


Earning Happy Endings

by BrainWithAMouth



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: (I need a Beta), A lot of people from the Enchanted Forest will now end up in Storybrooke, Canon Divergence, so you will probably see them here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-02-19 09:51:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 379,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrainWithAMouth/pseuds/BrainWithAMouth
Summary: All it took was one choice. Cora decided to allow Regina's curse to take her as well, though not without securing some protection of course. Now, more people from the Enchanted Forest lived a lie in Storybrooke for 28 years, and Emma will find herself in the midst of it all. With the help of her son, they'll find out who can be trusted, and who may want them gone.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we see a want for a nail...
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).

Everything, in essence, comes down to choice. While it’s true for events to happen randomly, the reaction and action taken afterwards affect future outcomes, affect future choices.

In one life, Cora, the Queen of Hearts, opted to cast a protective spell on a small piece of land she occupied with a fellow conspirator, Captain Hook, along with a number of unwitting people. The reason? To bide time until her daughter Regina’s Dark Curse was lifted, and to take advantage of Regina’s misery upon being defeated.

In this life, however, Cora chose a different path. She chose to let the curse take them all, but not before taking measures to protect herself, of course. This would have more far-reaching effects than even Cora could have imagined, on villains and heroes alike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check the next chapter to learn more.


	2. The Start of Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So awhile ago I came up with this OUAT fanfic, and a friend of mind - CantEscapeMyFandoms - helped me develop this fic. It took a while - and I mean a while - but here it is!
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_ October 23, 2011 _

Emma was in trouble. She wasn’t technically breaking any laws. In fact, she was actually (legally) doing the right thing by bringing a kid back to his legal parents.

The problem was that the kid was  _ her _ kid, and now he knew who she was and how to find her.

Henry.  _ Henry _ . 

Emma made a point of not speaking or even looking at the boy, however tempted she was to do so, as she drove to this Storybrooke town he’s from. Storybrooke. Even the name sounds weirdly quaint, and from what the kid said, it didn’t seem like a bad place.

Why did he run away? Why would he want to find her?

Emma already knew the answer to that second question. She’d wanted to find her biological parents for longer than she could remember, if for nothing else than to ream them out for leaving her by the side of the road. Emma only spared a brief glance at the kid, thankful that he was currently preoccupied with staring out the window, and let out a silent sigh. Now that he met her, the kid would undoubtedly try to get to know her, if for nothing else than to understand why she couldn’t keep him. 

“There it is, up ahead!” The kid suddenly piped out, pointing straight ahead at the empty road. At first, Emma didn’t understand what he was pointing at until they hit a bump in the road, and Emma felt a jolt race up and down her body before settling once again. That’s when Emma noticed a sign - “Welcome to Storybrooke” - just seconds before passing it. How come she didn’t see it sooner?

It didn’t take long before they entered a town, and like Emma thought, it looked as quaint as a name like Storybrooke indicated. Henry seemed more lively now than he had the whole car ride, probably excited to be back home, and then he started rattling off a list of names - Mary Margaret, Dr. Hopper, among 

“This is great.” Henry told her excitedly, a little smile blooming on his face. “They’re all going to be so happy to meet you.”

“What makes you say that?” Emma inquired. “They don’t even know me.”

“Well, not right now, not really.” Henry said a little too cryptically. “But they will.”

“Uh huh.” Emma said uncertainty. “First things first, we’ve got to get you back to your mom.”

At that, Henry immediately deflated. “Oh, right.” 

Curious about his lackluster reaction but not quite ready to delve deeper, at least at the moment, the rest of the car ride was in silence. Despite Henry’s pleas to not take him back, even calling his mom evil, Emma managed to find her way to his house. Emma marveled at the sight of a small, white mansion that Henry claimed was his house.

“She doesn’t love me,” Henry said. “She only pretends to”.

Why was that such a gut punch to her?

Emma parked the car, and it wasn’t long after they got out that a woman in a tight black dress, followed by another, more haggard woman and a man with a badge rushed out of the house. 

“Henry? Oh, Henry!” The woman in the black dress wrapped her arms around the kid, whose own arms hung limply by his sides. “Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?”

“I found my  _ real _ mom!” Henry shrugged off the woman’s attempts to hold onto him before racing inside. 

Everyone stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the man went in to check on Henry, but not before sharing a significant look with the haggard woman, whom Emma identified as a maid judging by the uniform. Henry’s adopted mom whispered some terse words with the maid before the latter woman left. Emma didn’t miss the brief look of anger, the one that only came from employees dealing with a bad day with the boss, before she disappeared down the street. 

Finally, Emma and the woman were left to themselves. Emma could tell that she was just as lost about what to do. So when the woman offered some apple cider, Emma really hoped that she had something stronger. 

They went inside and seated in a nice living room, one that was bigger than most of the rooms Emma stayed the night in. Regina - Henry’s adopted mom - poured the apple cider before sitting down. 

“When I adopted him,” Regina started. “he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed, I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact”. 

“You were told right.” Emma replied, hoping to settle the matter quickly. 

“And the father?” Regina asked. 

“There was one.” And wherever he was, Emma didn’t know, and by this point she wasn’t sure if she cared to know.

“Do I need to be worried about him?” Regina inquired further. 

“Nope.” Emma answered honestly, figuring that Neal probably couldn't be bother to raise a kid if he was still a fugitive. “Doesn't even know.”

After a moment, Regina looked at Emma more intently. “Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?”

“Absolutely not.” Emma told her. Emma only gave up Henry to give him a better shot at life, and she wasn’t going to screw that up now. 

Emma heard footsteps approaching, and turned around in time to see the guy from earlier enter the room. “Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine.”

After Regina thanked him, he promptly left. 

Soon after, it was Emma’s turn to leave. Judging from what she had observed, Emma knew that Henry was financially well off, and she could at least be glad that he likely wasn’t going to have to scrounge for food or fight for scraps of anything. And maybe she could chalk up his running away and wanting to find her to mood changes. He was a kid after all, one who wanted to know where he came from. 

So why didn’t something sit right with Emma? 

Emma got in her car without much fuss, except a brief thought about why Regina seemed a little disconcerted with Henry’s storybook, and drove off. Henry was fine, she told herself. He had security, stability, and a mom who was clearly concerned about him. He didn’t need her, and after a while when the curiosity of a biological mom wore off, he probably wouldn’t want her anyways. 

Emma was fine with that...she _could_ be fine with that. 

Emma spotted the “You Are Now Leaving Storybrooke” sign a few hundred years ahead when she glanced at the passenger seat, finally taking notice of something there. “Sneaky bastard,” Emma muttered, knowing that Henry leaving behind that thing was no accident, and feeling just a little impressed that he managed another excuse to see her. Looking up at the road again, Emma’s heart jolted at seeing a wolf standing in the room. Gasping in shock, she swerved to avoid him, and crashed into the sign. Emma felt something hit her head, and everything went black.

* * *

_ October 24, 2011 _

There was a beeping sound, piercing enough that it grated Emma’s senses, nearly enough to get her to open her eyes. As it was, Emma felt too tired, her eyelids firmly shut by a haze of sleep, but...something wasn’t right. When did she fall asleep?

Emma tried to bring her her right hand up to her eyes, to rub away some of the crust there, but something cold and hard held it back. 

At this, Emma’s eyes flew open, and she briefly regretted that as the lights above her shone brightly, and instinctively she tried to use both hands to shield herself from it, but only her left hand was free to do so. Trying not to exacerbate the headache that was now coming on, Emma shielded her eyes with her left hand as she cracked her eyes open in a squint. Her mouth was dry, and she felt her body give another jolt at the sight of a handcuff restraining her to a bed. Looking around, instead of finding some dark dungeon or prison cell, Emma saw that she was in a hospital, and a nice looking one. Not that that did anything to ease her worries, as it only made her think of how this place was nicer than- 

Emma gave the handcuff a harsh tug, and found that both the handcuffs and the hospital bed railing were uncompromising. Emma’s heart started pounding in her chest, and she began to swallow several times in an attempt to keep cool. She formed her restrained hand in a fist, and still her fingers tingled strangely. Emma used her free hand trying to feel for some sort of flaw, some sort of latch that might just release her, and felt a rising sense of terror that there wasn’t.  _ It’s okay _ , she told herself, though Emma didn’t believe it.  _ It’s fine it’s fine it’s fine _ . Emma placed her hand over her eyes, trying to stamp down the pounding headache she now had, groaning at the sick feeling she had. 

“Having a rough morning?” A familiar voice asked. Emma opened her eyes as much as she dared to see the man from last night at the door with two coffees in hand. Raising one of the coffee cups, he walked forward and set it down beside her on a small table. “After last night, I figured you could use a pickmeup.” 

“How...did I get here?” Emma replied roughly, her throat still dry. She tried reaching for the coffee, but the man stopped her, and quickly got some water from nearby before handing it to her. “Thanks.” Emma said before downing the drink. He was awfully accommodating for a man that was probably the one who brought her in. Not to mention trusting. How did he know she wasn’t going to throw the coffee in his face? Not that she would, but still. 

“It seems that Regina’s drinks are a little stronger than we thought.” Graham said. 

“I wasn’t drunk,” Emma protested, not at all keen on spending a night in jail on top of everything. “There was a wolf standing in the middle of the road.” 

Graham didn’t look convinced in the slightly. “A wolf. Right. In any case, you should know that the sigh you totaled and your car got the worst of the damage.”

Despite feeling sick, Emma managed to say, “You a doctor on top of being an officer?”

“He’s a Sheriff, actually,” A new voice corrected, and Emma turned to find a man in a doctor’s white coat entering the hospital room. “but no. I’m Dr. Whale, Ms. Swan, and you’re lucky the most you got was a hit to the head, though I’d prefer if you stayed in the hospital just to make sure there’s no serious damage.”

“I’m fine.” Emma insisted. 

“Ms. Swan,” Dr. Whale scolded, “you managed to regain consciousness once throughout the whole night. You may have been lucky enough to escape broken bones, but I don’t want you to risk any potential damage to your brain.”

“Besides your car is still in the shop.” the Sheriff told her. “It could be a few dents or some engine damage, but we won’t know until the car technician calls back.” 

“Look-” Emma cut herself off, catching herself raising her voice. No need for them to think she’s frantic, even though right now she felt that way. “Did you find anything life-threatening?”

Dr. Whale looked uncomfortable, probably seeing where this was going. “Well, no, but-” 

“And I have no broken bones or torn ligaments or whatever?” Emma questioned further, and this time the doctor merely nodded. “Look if I feel worst, I’ll let you know.” A lie, but he didn’t need know that. 

“Well in that case,” the Sheriff started, and Emma didn’t like his tone at all, “if you’re okay to leave, then you’re okay to go to jail.” 

“Jail?” Emma questioned. “For what?”

“I  _ did _ mention that you ruined our sign, right?” Sheriff asked rhetorically. 

After a beat, Emma probed, “Just  _ how _ ruined are we talking about?” 

“Eh nothing major.” The Sheriff cracked a smile. “Really though, don’t overwork yourself. I’ve still got to process the scene, and if I find any paw prints, you might find yourself off the hook.”

“Graham?” A woman’s voice echoed throughout the hospital, and Emma heard the sounds of people rushing out of the way as the clacking of high heels signaled Regina’s incoming arrival. “I couldn’t find you at the police station, and someone said you were-” Regina entered the room, and upon spotting Emma stopped dead in her tracks. “Here. What is she doing here? Do you know where he is?” 

“Where  _ who _ is?” Emma asked.

“ _ Henry _ , that’s who.” Regina snapped as she stepped further into the room, completely ignoring Dr. Whale’s presence. “He’s not at home and he didn’t show up to school, now where is he?”  

“Lady, in case you haven’t noticed,” Emma pulled on her handcuff for emphasis, “I’ve been a little busy.”

Regina opened her mouth to say something before the Sheriff, Graham, cut in. “Miss Swan got into a little mishap, but I thought it better she spend the night here to make sure everything was alright.” 

Emma looked at Graham, wondering why he was suddenly covering for her. 

Regina quickly recovered and turned her attention to Graham. “Henry wasn’t in his room this morning, so I assumed he went to school, but then I received a call from the school saying that he never showed up.” 

This worried Emma. This was a small town though, so the search area was at least small. “Did you try his friends?” Emma suggested, already preparing a mental grid of what she’d seen of the town so far. Maybe friends of his could narrow down the most likely places he’d hide out in. 

“He doesn’t really have any.” Regina replied, this time more quietly. “Kind of a loner.” 

“Every kid has friends.” Emma offered up, though she only partly believed it herself. Every kid has friends, though experience taught her that the length and quality of that friendship was always up in the air. Still, even if Regina doesn’t know for sure, there might still be a chance of a potential thread. “Did you check his computer? If he was close to someone he'd be emailing them.” And if there was, they’d better have the best of intentions, or else they’d get a worse beating than the sign.

“And you know this how?” Regina asked with an incredulous tone of voice. 

“Finding people’s what I do.” Emma replied swiftly before once again rattling her handcuffs. “Here's an idea: how 'bout you guys let me out, and I'll help you find him.” 

Emma would make sure her kid was okay. She owed him that much. 

* * *

 

After a look at Henry’s computer uncovered a recent transaction revealed that Henry used a credit card belonging to one Mary Margaret Blanchard, Emma and Regina went to the elementary school the woman worked at. Regina dismissed Graham to go about his regular duties, and Regina had a barely concealed sour look on her face the entire way to the school.

Lucky for them, Mary Margaret’s class was dismissed by the time they got there, and the teacher curiously asked what she was doing there. 

“Where’s my son?” Regina asked without so much as a hello. 

“I don’t know, Mayor Mills.” Mary Margaret said worriedly. “When the principal went to call you and didn’t come back, I assumed Henry had been found.”

“Well you assumed wrong.” Regina said tersely. “Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?” The “her” in question was Emma. 

Mary Margaret finally seemed to take notice of her. “I'm sorry, who are you?” 

Emma stuttered out an explanation before Regina overrode it with “The woman who gave him up for adoption.” Regina’s mood seemed to get worse even with Mary Margaret realizing that he had actually stolen her credit card, and seemed to be taking it fairly well. It definitely got worse at the mention of Henry’s storybook, and the fact that Mary Margaret was apparently the one who gave it to him. 

“As you well know, Henry is a special boy.” Mary Margaret said with pride. Emma sensed the presence of someone coming, and she immediately spotted a woman with green eyes and dark hair silently stand next to Emma by the doorway. “so smart, so creative, and as you might be aware, lonely. He needed it.”

“What he needs is dose of reality. This is a waste of time” Regina said sharply, and she grabbed her purse while sending a dark look to Emma. “Have a nice trip back to Boston.” Regina then walked out in a huff, spitefully knocking over a stack of books and bumping the shoulder of the silent woman before walking away. 

Immediately and without a word to each other, Emma and the woman went to help Mary Margaret, who greeted the woman with a quiet “Hi Nerissa,” before telling them both that they didn’t need to help her. 

Nerissa then used sign-language, and Mary Margaret verbally replied “No, no. Besides, what’s the principal going to do? Reprimand the mayor?” Mary Margaret then signed something back with a small smile, earning one from Nerissa in return. Mary Margaret then looked at Emma again, and said, “Oh this is Nerissa Holguin. She’s our kindergarten teacher. Nerissa, this is…”

“Emma. Swan.” Emma introduced herself. She then gave Nerissa an awkward wave. 

Mary Margaret then gave Emma an apologetic look. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I fear this is partially my fault.” 

“Still…” Emma trailed off, thinking that Regina had a bit of an overreaction. A worried mother was excusable, but Regina seemed against the idea of Mary Margaret being helpful since they learned that Henry used her credit card. “How’s a book supposed to help?” Emma asked her. 

The smile on Mary Margaret’s face grew wider, though only enough to give her face an almost dreamy look. “What do you think stories are for? These stories? The classics? There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world. A world that doesn't always make sense.” Mary Margaret’s smile dampened a bit as the three of them exited the classroom to walk down the hall. “See, Henry hasn't had the easiest life.”

“Yeah, she’s kind of a hard-ass.” Emma assented as she stood on one side of Mary Margaret and Nerissa walked along the other side. 

Nerissa then signed something at Emma, but Emma didn’t understand it. After realizing that Emma really didn’t know sign language, Mary Margaret began to translate Nerissa’s words. “Nerissa says that Henry’s had a hard time connecting with other kids, but he’s also had trouble with wondering where he comes froms.” 

Mary Margaret then spoke for herself. “She’s right. He wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face: why would anyone give me away?” At Nerissa’s nudge, Mary Margaret realized what she said and began to apologize. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean in any way to judge you…”

“It’s okay.” Emma waved it off, not wanting to show how it hurt to think that she was right. 

“Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have: hope.” Mary Margaret told him. “Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.”

Nerissa and Mary Margaret shared a look, and Emma immediately understood the nonverbal message. “You know where he is, don't you?” 

Nerissa paused before nodding, to which Mary Margaret added, “You might want to check his castle.”

* * *

 

It took longer convincing the mechanic to temporarily release her car than it did to find Henry, who was sitting on his wooden playground castle. According to the two teachers, none of the other kids played there because it was too far from their houses, it was old and faded, and a litany of other reasons. For a spot for a kid to just get away from everyone else, it was a pretty decent one. 

Emma walked up behind Henry with his storybook in hand. “You left this in my car.” Emma said to announce her presence, taking a seat next to him before handing over his book. She then remembered him briefly mentioning something about the clocktower in town, and how it never moved. Emma just chalked it up to the town ordinance codes being shit, but Henry had a more magical take on the situation. “Still hasn't moved, huh?”

Henry was downtrodden. “I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle will begin.”

_ Okaaay _ , Emma thought. “I’m not fighting any battles, kid.”

“Yes, you are.” Henry insisted, finally meeting her eyes. It was a little unnerving, how it felt like Emma could see her own eyes looking back at her, and she didn’t like that little pull her heart made towards the kid. “You're here because it's your destiny.” He continued. “You're going to bring back the happy endings.”

This was just getting out of hand. “Can you cut it with the book crap?”

“You don't have to be hostile.” Henry said like _ she _ was the unreasonable one, and then he even gave her a coy smile. “I know you like me, I can tell. You're just—pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay; I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance.”

Emma paused, unwilling to let too much of her welling emotions show at how the kid managed to so easily, so  _ accurately _ understand why she did what she did. “How do you know that?” She asked. 

“It’s the same reason that Snow White had when she gave you away.” Henry stated confidently, like that just explained everything. 

She remembered Mary Margaret’s words about stories giving life understanding, about how they gave hope, but life wasn’t always like that. More importantly, Henry was putting way too much stock into Emma and her supposed ability to bring happy endings to anyone, least of all to the kid she gave away. “Listen to me, kid. I am not in any book. I'm a real person. And I'm no savior. You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance. But it's not with me. C'mon, let's go.”

“Please don't take me back there!” Henry suddenly pleaded. “Just stay with me for one week, that's all I ask! One week, and you'll see I'm not crazy.”

“I have to get you back to your mom.” Preferably before Regina decided to knocking over a few books wasn’t enough. 

“You don't know what it's like with her.” Henry said. “My life sucks!”

And with that, Emma’s patience ran thin. “Oh, you wanna know what sucking is? Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway; my parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital!” Emma hated how she felt a part of herself, the part that was still lonely, scared, and unwanted orphan Emma began to break. “I ended up in a foster system and I had a family until I was three but then they had their own kid so they sent me back…” Emma paused, calming herself, knowing that Henry was just a kid, he didn’t know any better. He didn’t know how bad life could get, and Emma could only be thankful that he had some measure of safety. When she felt herself becoming a little calmer, she continued more steadily, “Look. Your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard. And I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you. But at least she wants you.”

It took a few moments, during which Henry’s face went from self-assured to self-conscious, but at last Henry finally asked, “Did you want me?” Seizing on her temporary shock, Henry hurriedly continued, “I know you gave me up for adoption, and I know you probably did the best you could but…” Henry’s body tensed up as he tried to hide his vulnerability, “... _ why _ exactly did you give me up? I just want to know, you know?” 

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Emma said trying her best not to openly freak out. Her inward freakout was making up for that. How could she tell him about why exactly she gave him up without exposing her shame? Without giving him a real reason to be ashamed of her? “I’m not your mom, kid. I mean I am, but you actually have someone who can provide for you, and, like I said, who wants you.”  

_ I wanted you too, _ Emma thought with a pang in her heart.  _ I wanted you so much every day you grew, but I couldn’t keep you. I didn’t deserve to keep you.  _

The hurt look on Henry’s face just broke her heart further. “So you didn’t want me.” Henry said in a flat, despondent tone. 

“No I did.” Emma insisted, the words flying out of her mouth before she would stop them. “I did want you, but...I couldn’t keep you.” 

“Why not?” Henry asked in a soft voice. 

Emma took a moment trying to come up with an answer that didn’t mentally scar a 10-year-old. “I...I was young. I was young, I could barely look after myself at the time, and…I just couldn’t take care of you. If I kept you, then you would’ve ended up in foster care, and I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t let what happened to me, happen to you.”

For a second, Emma was worried that he was going ask further, that he was going to ask her why exactly she felt this way. Thankfully, what he ended up saying was, “Okay.” 

“Okay?” Emma asked, trying to hide her hope that it would stay at that.

Henry shrugged and nodded at the same time. ““Yeah.” Henry paused.

Emma had the foreboding sense that he was about to ask something even worse.

“What about my dad?” Henry asked. “Did he want me?"

“It’s…” Awful? Hard to talk about? Something she’d like to forget? “...complicated.” Emma finally said, and she managed to coax him off the castle so that they stood on the ground. “Come on. If we don’t get you home soon, your mom might be tempted to grab a pitchfork and drive  _ me _ out of town.” 

Henry gave her a coy smile. “You could always use a sword. That’s what your dad’s weapon.” 

Emma chalked it up to one of his stories, and held out a hand which he quickly accepted. “Whatever you say, kid. Come on.” 

They walked back to her car together, and as they began to drive, Henry began pointing out different places in town as they passed by. There were restaurants, shops, and he mentioned an inn owned by a “Granny” and her granddaughter. 

Unlike the first car ride to Regina’s house, Emma took several opportunities - stop signs, stop lights, etc. - to catch glances at Henry. He was a sweet kid. Misguided, and maybe a little...too into his book, but ultimately he was a good kid. Hell, even his sarcasm was tempered by how, despite not wanting to get too attached, Emma had a major soft spot for him. He also seemed very lonely, one similarity to Emma that she hoped would skip him. No friends, retreating into himself, and an adopted mom who just felt off to Emma. On the surface, he had everything she never had - a permanent place to sleep, nice clothes, and probably a steady stream of food in his stomach. Had Emma been able to leave when she originally wanted to, she might’ve been able to get on with her life, at least a little bit, with the knowledge that he was well taken care of. As experience taught her, however, Emma didn’t feel right about just leaving him here. When she was young, giving birth in a prison hospital while handcuffed by the ankle to a prison hospital bed, she wanted the best for her kid. She wanted him to be taken care of, but she also wanted him to be loved and happy. 

So, as it was, Emma wasn’t sure about leaving until she made sure he was happy. 

* * *

Emma shoved her hands into her pockets as she left the mechanic’s shop. He’d been relieved that she hadn’t somehow maimed a stop sign, and assured her that the car would be ready by tomorrow morning. When she asked if any places were available, he suggested Granny’s Inn (it was owned by the same lady who owned one of the diners in town). He’d even told her how to get there. 

Unfortunately, the mechanic wasn’t as good at giving directions as he was at fixing cars, because Emma found herself lost. 

Trying to shake off the autumn chill, Emma surveyed the town around her. Emma hadn’t ever really stayed in a small town long enough to take a walk around it, namely because she was more interested in catching as much sleep in whatever place had a room and a decent mattress before moving on. Most of the lights in the stores and businesses were out, and Emma had a feeling that the residential part of town was further away. She didn’t spot anyone else outside, and it was quieter than she was used to. It was the sort of quiet that couldn’t be achieved in a city, probably because there were far fewer people, but maybe it was also because everyone answered to some unspoken rhythm. 

It was kind of nice, but like any new place, Emma would be sure to keep an eye open for any trouble. 

Then she spotted the big clock tower, and sighed knowing that she’d well and truly gotten lost. Thankfully, she spotted someone exiting the corner-door of the building, so Emma hurried her steps to talk to them.

“Hey!” Emma called out, her steps only slowing once she was about ten feet or so away from the person she now realized was a man. A…nice-looking man. The street lights managed to show enough of the man’s face as he turned to face her, his blue eyes meeting hers. Even in the darkness of the night, his eyes had a shine to them that made Emma unthinkingly walk closer to him, her goal of finding...wherever it is she wanted to go, a distant thing. Part of her just wanted to see if she would get a better look at those eyes, and to get a closer look at his dark hair, his eyebrows, his light stubble. Emma briefly wondered why her heart jumped a little-  _ Focus Emma _ . “Hi, uh, sorry to bother you, but I need some directions to…” What was the name of that place again? Oh yeah. “Granny’s Inn?”

“And who might you be?” The man asked in return, his eyes not wandering from her face for a second. 

“Emma.” She replied simply, already reminding herself to mentally take a step back. She didn’t really mean to do it. It was generally easier, and safer, to give as little information about yourself as you can, especially to some handsome guy you just met. 

“Well,  _ Emma _ ,” he emphasized her name, one of his eyebrows rising a bit, giving his face a coy expression that both told Emma that he knew her game, and also made her heart jump a little again. He then stuck out his right hand, “it’s nice to meet you. The name’s Killian.” 

Emma took his hand and shook it, suddenly worrying that her hand was sweating. When they released hands, Emma felt a tingle gently run up and down her arm. In the back of her mind, she wondered why he wasn’t moving the fingers of his left hand.

After a few seconds, Killian seemed to remember that he should answer her question. “If you’re looking for Granny’s, her diner is just around the corner and the way, and the inn is connected to the diner” Killian then pointed in a certain direction to where the diner was supposed to be. He then gave her more directions before saying, “I’m closing up the library. If you want, I could walk you there.” 

Emma thought about turning him down, and thought about telling him that she could make her own way...except that she’d rather avoid wasting more time trying to find this place. Besides, at least this way she could look him in the eyes if he gave her the wrong directions again.  

So she agreed, and after Killian locked up, the two of them walked together following Killian’s directions. On the way, Emma finally noticed that his left hand wasn’t flesh, but instead it looked like a prosthetic. 

“What brings you to Storybrooke?” Killian asked. 

So much for keeping things to herself. Emma instinctively thought about just not answering, or giving him a half-assed answer, but because she knew small towns earned their reputation for fast-traveling news, she figured that giving him just information information would be sufficient. Hopefully. 

“You know the Mayor’s kid?” Emma asked.

“Henry? Yes.” Killian answered. “He comes into my library for tutoring sometimes.”

“You’re a tutor and a librarian?” Emma automatically asked. 

“I’m multifaceted.” Killian replied. “And what’s your concern with Henry?”

“He’s...I’m his...biological mom.” Emma finally got out. 

“Ah so that’s where he went.” Killian said, mostly to himself. At Emma’s questioning look, Killian continued, “Henry usually spends the weekend either at his home or at the library. After Mayor Mills stormed into the library demanding to know where he was yesterday, I was worried about where he’d gone. Before that, he was suddenly keen on knowing his birth parents, and it looks like he decided to take the initiative to find them.” Killian then gave her a grateful look. “Thank you for bringing him back safely.” 

“How’d you know I brought him back?” Emma asked. “He’s a resourceful kid. He couldn’t gotten back on his own.”

“Given the fact that you’re booking a room in the town your son lives in, I figured that maybe you’d be the kind of person to make sure he got back in the first place.” Killian told her. “How long are you planning on staying?” 

Emma shrugged. “As long as needed.” 

“Don’t be in too much of a hurry to leave.” Killian said. “It’s not often that Storybrooke gets visitors. In fact, I can’t remember the last time someone’s come to town from outside.” 

“Come on.” Emma replied. 

“No, I’m serious.” Killian said, his expression morphing into one of confusion, as he seemed to try to think back on something. “In fact, I’m fairly certain that the last time someone came to town, it was when Mayor Mills brought Henry after adopting him.” 

“To be fair, this place isn’t easy to find.” Emma tried to explain away. “I’m not sure I could’ve found it if Henry hadn’t guided me.”

“I’m glad he did.” Killian told her, before immediately trying to recover, “I mean that...it’s good that you’re here. Henry might have some questions for you and all.” Before Emma could reply to anything, Killian used his right hand to point ahead. “Ah, there it is.” 

Emma looked ahead, and found a nice-looking inn up ahead. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief that they’d actually made it, and thanked Killian for the help. 

“Anytime you need a guide, Emma, you know where to find me.” With a final smile, Killian turned around and left Emma alone. 

Emma was a tiny bit surprised at how she kind of wanted to take him up on that offer. 

Emma stepped aside, and was immediately confronted with the sounds of arguing. So, not unlike a few of her foster homes. 

“You’re out all night, and now you’re going out again.” An older woman’s voice said as footsteps descended a staircase.

“I should’ve moved to Boston!” A lithe young woman with dark hair complained out as she came into view before quickly leaving Emma’s sight by entering another room, and an elderly woman followed her.

“I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the Eastern Seaboard!” The old woman, her greying hair in a bun, called out after the young woman. 

“Scuse me?” Emma interrupted before things could get more awkward. “I’d like a room?” At this point, she’d take anything just to get off her feet for what remained of the night. 

Both of the women looked at her curiously, like they were surprised that she was even there. 

“Really?” The old woman, whom Emma believed was Mrs. Lucas, asked almost in shock before quickly putting on a hostess smile, hurrying to fetch a ledger from a desk. “Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally there's an upgrade fee for the square, but as the rent is due, I'll wave it.”

“Square is fine.” Emma replied. 

“Now, what’s the name?” Mrs. Lucas asked.

“Swan.” Emma told her. “Emma Swan.”

“Emma.” A voice said from behind her, and Emma managed not to jump as her instincts immediately put her on alert. Out of all these strangers in this town so far, when Emma turned around to find an older man with lanky brown hair and bored brown eyes looking at her, she felt something under her skin crawl. “What a lovely name.”

Emma thanked him, not sure of what else to say as Mrs. Lucas removed a wad of cash from a drawer, and handed it to the man. As the man accepted the cash without counting it, and told Emma to enjoy her stay, she wondered why his eyes seemed so familiar to her. She didn’t think she’d ever met him before. 

“Who’s that?” Emma asked both Mrs. Lucas and the young woman.

“Mr. Gold.” Ruby answered with disdain as she watched him through the curtains. “He owns this place.”

“The inn?” Emma asked, somehow worried at the prospect that this guy might be her new landlord. 

“No.” Mrs. Lucas replied almost grimly. “The town.” 

Ah, so this guy is  _ everyone’s _ landlord. Great. 

“So!” Mrs. Lucas broke into her thought. “How long will you be with us?” 

“A week. Just a week.” Emma replied. That’s enough time to suss out how Henry’s doing. It’d be enough time to check in on him, make sure everything’s fine. It was also enough time that Henry probably wouldn’t get too attached to her, and he could move on with his life if she was gone. 

“Great.” Mrs. Lucas nodded before handing Emma an old-fashioned key. “Welcome to Storybrooke.” 

* * *

Twenty-eight years was a long time to wait, though Cora breathed a sigh of relief that she didn’t mentally wait through any of them. 

The minute she’d learned that Regina still loved her, and especially of her errant daughter’s plan to win, Cora knew that she’d had to work fast. She couldn’t very well try to supersede Regina’s plans. That would defeat the very purpose of pretending to have actually been killed by Hook. It hadn’t taken long for Cora to learn of Regina wanting to enact the Dark Curse, and she knew that there was only one person that could’ve introduced Regina to something that world-shattering.

Which is why Cora knew that Rumplestiltskin would rip the world in half before he let anyone interfere with his plans.

Why he wanted to come to this land so much, for Cora had no doubt that the Dark One had some purpose here, she didn’t know. What she did know was that there was little she could do to alter the course of events, so she did what she did best: she made the best of the situation.

It had taken great pains to find a spell that could semi-permanently alter her physical appearance, even with this strange land’s interference with magic. It had taken even greater pains for Cora to find something to create a new spell that would - hopefully - wake her up the minute that the Savior came to town. 

The minute she woke up, she ran to the nearest reflective surface - a simple mirror in her simple home - and she breathed a sigh of relief that she retained the simple, unassuming, utterly boring appearance she’d taken on. However, she soon realized that a side effect of the hastily made, albeit effective, spell she’d cast on herself left her with an itch she felt couldn’t be satisfied, though that was preferable to the occasional aches in her body.

She could only hope that the Savior would break this spell quickly. The sooner that this spell was broken and her daughter’s spirit was crushed, the sooner she could rid herself of this skin and take the reins of power. 

Cora looked at the clock on her nightstand, and felt nervous as the thin hand on the clock slowly ticked closer to the “12”, other hands reading out the time.

8:15 P.M.

Cora knew from twenty-eight years of experience, or rather twenty-eight years of the same repetitive, boring cycle that dawn never truly came in Storybrooke, because the time never went past 8:15 P.M. 

The thin hand of the clock ticked closer and closer to the 12. 

Even though the Savior was here now, Cora didn’t want to have to repeat one more day of this insipid little town’s repetitive nature.

The thin hand finally settled on the 12, and Cora stopped breathing in anticipation of being thrown back to a false unconscious, to the illusion that she was waking up to a brand new day…

The thin hand moved forward.

8:16 P.M. finally came.

Cora smiled.

* * *

He was so close. Rumplestiltskin was so close to finding Baelfire, to be reunited with his son. All these centuries, every deal and trade went into getting Baelfire back. He’d have his son and his magic, and everything would be alright.

Well, almost everything. The pirate was still alive. Rumple seethed at the idea that the one-handed rum drinker was still among the living. It almost offended Rumple that Hook was breathing the same air as him.

Still, that was a matter to deal with later. Once the curse was broken, once Rumple got Baelfire and found a way to get his magic back in this strange land, then Hook could die.

Until then, he could live. For now.

* * *

His mom was finally here. His _real_ mom was here to break the spell and save everyone. More than that, Henry thought as he lay awake in bed, he can finally know the woman who gave birth to him. And she was nice.

Okay she was kind of surly, and Henry didn’t at all miss the way she avoided talking about his dad or why she gave him up, but she still looked for him. She cared about him, he knew she did. 

He hoped that she decided to stay in town. Of course he wanted the curse to be broken, so that the Evil Queen - his adopted mom, wow that was weird to think about - could be beaten and everyone would be free. He also wanted her to stay because he wanted to get to know her. 

Henry felt his thoughts becoming sad. Something about the way she’d talked about having to give him up made him feel bad for her. She said that she was young and alone, and that just made Henry wonder how no one could be there for her. How long had she been alone? And her eyes...they’d seemed so sad the more she talked of her past, and the little she’d spoken about it worried Henry. 

Henry shook those thoughts out. Even if she was alone then, she wouldn’t be alone now. He would help her realize that she wasn’t alone, that she now had him. Plus, there had to be people in town that would be her friend, like Mary Margaret (even though she was her mom…). Oh yeah, there was also Killian. Henry still hadn’t figured out who his tutor could be, but given that what Henry knew of Killian as his cursed self, his original self couldn’t be all bad.

Henry got out of bed and went over to his bedroom window, opening it up so that he could plant his crossed arms on the windowsill and rest there. The town was quiet at this time of night, and Henry had a good view of the clocktower.

8:15 P.M. 

When he was little and had an earlier bedtime, he’d never noticed that the time never went past that hour, or that the clock tower bell never rang the morning after. He’d asked his mom (Regina), Killian, Graham, and just about anyone if the clock tower was broken. The answers just amounted to a confused or assenting “Hmm..”. 

That is except for his mom, who just told him that it was nothing to worry about. 

Henry stared at the clock tower, feeling a nervous twist in his gut. What if the town would restart, and Emma would forget everything like everything else? 

No, that wouldn’t happen...right?

Henry stared for what felt like an eternity, and waited...waited…

The giant hands of the clock finally moved to 8:16 P.M.

And with that, Henry smiled, knowing that after a good night’s sleep, Operation Cobra could finally commence.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes it is true, Cora is in Storybrooke, and no one, especially not Regina, knows what she looks like, which is kind of the point. Cora wouldn't allow herself to be taken to Storybrooke, where she'd be essentially powerless, without some kind of backup plan.
> 
> This means that a bunch of characters, especially ones that were previously in the Sanctuary in canon, are now in Storybrooke, this includes the people below:
> 
> Killian Jones
> 
> Nerissa Holguin/Ariel
> 
> And many others, and I will add their names to the list as time goes on, because why ruin the surprise.
> 
> Let me know what you thought about the chapter in the review box below.
> 
> See you soon!


	3. Things Are Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we learn more about the people who are now here as a result of Cora letting the curse take them, and how Regina and Emma face off concerning Henry and the curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all the people who read the past chapters, and are reading this chapter, and a special thanks to Can'tEscapeMyFandoms for helping me write this.
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).
> 
> Enjoy!

_October 25, 2011_

The book was worthless. It was meaningless. It held no power that she couldn't overcome.

These were lies Regina repeatedly told herself as she flipped through the pages of Henry's storybook. She had waited until Henry was fast asleep to slip into his room and take the book. She was now debating on whether or not she should give it back. Or burn it. That seemed like a viable option.

She paused on a page that depicted her, the Evil Queen, at her wretched stepdaughter's wedding to the simple minded fool. The day she promised to destroy Snow White's happiness, and she would. Her charming husband had foolishly tried to throw his sword at her, an ill-fated attempt to kill her.

And where were they now? The great Snow White a lowly schoolteacher, forever separated from the husband that's now a nameless man in a coma. Even if the initial feeling of triumph had faded away, it made Regina smile a little how Snow White looked her True Love in the face, and didn't even recognize him.

She turned to the back of the book, and began to worry once she realized that the last several pages had been ripped out. She knew she should've looked at the book last night. That way she could have been able to sneak back into Henry's room...however that might've woken him up, and inevitably would lead to some manner of disobedience which would've ruined her sleep.

Thankfully, she'd had a full night's rest, and was able to walk into her son's room and confront him on it. "The missing pages, where are they?"

Her son simply shrugged. "It's an old book, stuff's missing. What do you care?"

Oh, so now he's taking an attitude with her now? Ms. Blanchard may need a lesson for interfering with Regina's life, a trait that must have unfortunately carried over from Snow White's wretchedness. "I care because you think I'm some evil queen." She said sweetly as she walked closer to him. "And that hurts me, Henry. I'm your mother."

She tried to touch his face, an act that usually won him over to her side when he was younger, but now he moved away from her touch. "No, you're not."

Henry's insolence hurt, but the idea that that woman was already burrowing her way into his life insulted her. "Well, then, who is? That woman you brought here?" And, if she knew what was good for her, was far away from here. "I don't like what she or this book is doing to you. Thankfully both are no longer an issue." At this, Henry looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet, and immediately Regina was apprehensive. "What?"

A horrid sound resounded through the house. No. Not just the house. The entire town. The clock tower chimed for the first time since this town of hers existed, and Regina's gut immediately dropped at the sound.

She vaguely felt Henry leave the room, and she knew that her son was going to school. He was a good boy, and that was because of her, not because of the woman who gave him up like an unwanted accessory. Regina was the one who had taken him in, who had treated him as one of her own. He was her _only_ one. And now this woman…

Who was she? The question resonated in Regina's mind, and she worried that the clock tower chiming, the idea that time was moving, and that woman were somehow connected. If they weren't, then Regina could simply drive her out of town, take away her reason or means of staying. If they were, then Regina would have to get creative.

One thing was certain. That woman was not going to have her son. Over her dead body would she have her little prince.

* * *

It said a lot about Emma's luck that she didn't even get a chance at breakfast before there was a knock at her door. Now she was going to have to talk to strangers on an empty stomach.

Opening the door, Emma saw that it was Regina holding a basket of apples, and yet her empty stomach didn't find them the least bit appetizing to her.

Regina gave her a sharp smile as she proudly told her, "Did you know the honeycrisp tree is the most vigorous and hardy of all apple trees? It can survive temperatures as low as forty below and keep growing. It can weather any storm. I have one that I've tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers."

Regina took an apple from the basket before extending it to Emma, who took it with a "Thanks."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy them on your drive home." Regina said presumptively.

Quick to put down any assumptions about her, Emma corrected Regina. "Actually, I'm gonna stay for a while."

Regina didn't seem to take her seriously. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Henry has enough issues, he doesn't need you confusing him."

Ignoring that nagging voice in the back of her head that told her Regina was right, Emma couldn't help but feel her pride and suspicion rise up. If this was just the first time, Emma could chalk it up to an overprotective adopted parent not wanting to deal with the biological parent. But the second time...Emma pushed on by saying, "All due respect, Madame Mayor, the fact that you have now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes me wanna stay more."

At this, Regina lost most of the smile that she had firmly kept in place. "Since when were apples a threat?"

"I can read between the lines." Emma replied, tilting her head with a fake smile before letting the smile drop in favor of a flatter expression, trying to make this (and Regina) go away as quickly as possible. Besides, she was only going to be here for a week. "Sorry, I just wanna make sure Henry's okay."

"He's fine, dear." Regina's dark eyes stared at her in a silent challenge, one daring Emma to contradict her. "Any problems he has are being taken care of."

Something about her tone of voice didn't seem right to Emma. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means I have him in therapy. It's all under control." Regina told her, and she barely allowed Emma time to absorb this before she continued, "Take my advice, Miss Swan, only one of us knows what's best for Henry."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that." Emma told her, her eyes not leaving Regina's, unwilling to be the first one to blink.

Regina waited a few moments to stare at Emma before sharply saying, "It's time for you to go."

"Or what?" Emma challenged.

Regina then took a step toward Emma. "Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan. You have no idea what I'm capable of." Regina sent one last challenging look, and for a singular moment Emma saw utter contempt in that look before Regina turned her back on her, eventually walking out of sight.

Emma closed the door with a sigh. Based on this _wonderful_ encounter, Emma just knew this week was going to be smooth sailing.

Right.

Emma threw on an overshirt and her red leather jacket, jammed her foot into her boots, and went downstairs for breakfast, apple in hand.

Still, she didn't feel like eating the apple for breakfast. Hell, it would be her luck that Regina actually poisoned these.

As soon as she got to the diner and sat down at the counter, the young woman from last night - whom she learned was named Ruby - appeared behind the counter, wearing a white blouse and a short red skirt, which complimented the red headband holding back her brown hair, which had a red streak in it. "Hey there stranger." She greeted with a smile.

"Hi." Emma replied uneasily as she set the apple down on the counter. "You have a menu I could look at."

"Sure do." Ruby replied, grabbing a menu from a nearby table and presenting it to Emma. "So, how was your first night in Storybrooke?"

Emma's thoughts suggested _Weird? A little chaotic? Potentially life-altering?_ She settled for, "Okay."

Ruby nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, there isn't a lot to do in this town. Personally, I'd take the first bus to Boston if I could, but...you know…" Ruby paused before taking note of her apple. "Uh, generally Granny doesn't always appreciate bringing food in from outside, but since it's your first time here she'll probably understand."

"Oh, this?" Emma glanced at the apple. "It was a...gift, from the mayor."

Ruby's expression conveyed that she knew how well the gift was received.

"Let me ask you a question." Emma suggested, waiting for Ruby's consent before the waitress nodded for her to continue. "Is Regina always such a…" Emma started but she didn't exactly have a polite word in mind, so she left Ruby to fill it in, especially since Emma wasn't sure what Ruby even thought of the mayor. It wouldn't do well to offend anyone on her first official day here.

"A total bitch?" Ruby surprised Emma with her blunt honesty. "Yeah, but we all kind of have to live with it, you know?"

Emma looked around to see if anyone cared to overhear them, and once she saw that no one was close enough to do so, she asked, "So everyone thinks she's a bitch?"

"Most people." Ruby shrugged. "To be honest, I don't even know how she got into office. I don't even remember the election."

"Probably because you and that mechanic were too busy partying and drinking." Mrs. Lucas said, causing both Emma and Ruby to jump in surprise. How did she sneak up on them like that?

From her place standing next to Emma, Mrs. Lucas continued, "Besides, you've never cared much for politics."

"Billy was probably working. He works too much to party." Ruby defended this mechanic before shooting back, "Besides what's the point in following politics when nothing changes? Everyone's been at the same job for as long as I can remember."

"If you don't attend to these tables, _you_ might not be." Mrs. Lucas shot back.

"I was _trying_ to get her order." Ruby replied hotly.

Before things could get more awkward, Emma piped up "Um I'd like hot cocoa with cinnamon."

The grandmother and granddaughter remembered that she was also there, and the two of them immediately shared the exact same look of embarrassment on their faces. Mrs. Lucas gave Emma a smile, telling her to enjoy, and went off to attend to something else.

Ruby then said with a tight smile and a look of shame on her face, "I'll get it right away. Take your time with the menu." Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Just then, the bells at the diner's front door chimed, signaling the entrance of a new customer. Looking over at the entrance, Emma recognized that the maid from Regina's house was entering the diner with a small boy with dark curls and chubby cheeks, who looked to be about three or four. The maid seemed to look a little better than she did the last time Emma saw her, her olive skin seemed less sallow and her dark hair more put together. If for nothing else, she was able to keep up with the rambunctious toddler who shouted "Alan!"

"Fernando." His mother scolded, and the little boy immediately deflated before the mother gently pinched his pale cheeks. "Inside voice."

"Sorry Mommy." He apologized before she released his cheeks, and he when he spotted Emma he immediately went up to her. "Hi."

"Hi." Emma greeted back, smiling in spite of herself. What could she say? The kid was cute.

"Fernando." His mother called to him once again, and Fernando gave Emma a quick wave as he went over to his mom. The mother then looked up at Emma and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, he's really friendly."

"No it's okay." Emma waved it away.

That was when a dawning look came over Nancy's face. "Oh, you're the woman who brought back Henry." She said kindly as she placed her son on a nearby counter stool, before taking one next to him, leading an empty stool between her and Emma.

"That would be me." Emma replied.

The woman leaned a little closer to Emma. "Thank you so much for bringing him back. I swear, I thought Regina was going to lose her mind if he wasn't found soon."

Emma was surprised that the woman would admit that to a total stranger.

The woman seemed to have just realized what she said, and immediately began backtracking, "Not that I mean that in a bad way." Realizing what a lame response that was, she stuttered for a few moments before Emma took mercy on her.

"Hey, my lips are sealed." Emma promised. "From the looks of things, she didn't treat you too well the first night I got here."

The woman shrugged. "She was...tense. She's, you know, got her job and a kid to worry about. I'm just the maid." She then lightly slapped her own forehead. "Oh wow, I'm unloading all of this and I haven't even told you my name." She then held out a nervous hand. "I'm Nancy."

Emma took her hand and shook it. "I'm Emma."

"I'm Fernando." The little boy replied brightly before sticking out his hand to Emma, who shook it while his mother gave a small laugh.

The bells chimed again, and this time it was Sheriff Graham who entered the diner. Emma's eyes glanced over at Nancy, and she was a little surprised to find that her face was reddening.

Graham came over, and greeted them, though his attention seemed to be on Nancy. "Hello Nancy." His tone seemed more than a little shy. "Having a good morning?"

"Hi Graham." Nancy hurriedly said, giving a shy and awkward wave before forcing her hand down. "Hi Graham." Her response was just as shy as his had been. Unless Emma was mistaken, she could've sworn that she saw a blush creep up his cheeks, though the beard helped to hide it.

Almost immediately, Fernando piped up. "Hi Graham!"

Graham sent the boy a faux confused look. "Is that Fernando? Last time I saw him he was _this_ big." Graham closed his thumb and forefinger together so that there was only an inch of space between them.

The boy giggle. "Noooo. You saw me yesterday silly."

Graham then slapped his own forehead in mock astonishment. "Oh yes, I am quite silly. How could I not recognize my next deputy?"

"Next sheriff." Fernando corrected with an adorably serious look.

Graham sucked in a dramatic gasp. "Am I being usurped now?"

"I'm not 'uslurping' you." Fernando protested before he paused and turned to his mother to ask, "What does 'uslurp' mean?"

"Here you go." Ruby suddenly appeared, placing Emma's drink in front of her before she turned to the three new customers. "Hey there. What can I get you three?"

"We're not together." Nancy and Graham said at the same time, causing the two of them to look away, the blushes that had recently faded away returning once more.

Ruby rolled her eyes and gave Emma a smirk, silently indicating that this was a usual occurrence here in the diner. She then turned to the trio again and asked, "You want any drinks to start out with?"

"Hot chocolate." Fernando piped up, and after a look from his mother he added, "Please."

"Just coffee with cream for me." Nancy said.

"Same here." Graham answered.

Ruby took the orders and went back to the kitchen.

Graham finally seemed to notice Emma, and immediately became embarrassed. "Oh, hello Emma. Feeling better?"

"Mhmm." Emma hummed out, quirking an eyebrow, unable to stop herself from teasing the man for the recent display. She was rewarded by him nervously scratching the back of his head.

"I'll just...go over to that booth." Graham said, looking at Nancy again. "Good seeing you."

"You too." Nancy replied as Graham took his seat at a booth further down the way. Nancy's attention returned to Fernando, who was thoroughly engrossed in the menu (whether or not he could read was unknown to Emma), before it returned to Emma. "So, um, how long are you going to stay in Storybrooke?"

"About a week." Emma replied. "I'm staying at the inn for the time being."

"That's good." Nancy smiled. "It's nice to have someone new around here. Storybrooke never gets any visitors."

"I've been getting that a lot lately." Emma said, and her thoughts briefly became concentrated on trying to figure out the _why_. Of course this place was near impossible to find, so that should've been the simple solution. However, something just didn't feel right. Why is it that one minute she was driving and saw nothing but road, but the next minute she felt herself getting closer to the town?

The bells chimed once more. Emma looked over and spotted Henry enter the diner, and after a brief look around, he spotted her. "Hi Emma." Henry greeted as he approached her, and Nancy's expression took one of brief, mild surprise. He then saw her drink and guessed, "Cocoa with cinnamon?"

Emma nodded and Henry smiled. "That's my favorite too."

"Don't you have school?" Emma asked.

"Duh, I'm ten." The kid replied sarcastically.

"Hi Henry." Fernando greeted, and while Henry returned the greeting, Emma worried about the somewhat pained look on the 10-year-old's face as he looked at Fernando.

Henry then gave her a fake smile. "You mind walking me to school?"

Without much thought, Emma replied, "Sure." Emma got the cocoa, and the one she ordered for Henry, to go. Once she grabbed the apple, the two of them grabbed their cocoas with cinnamon, said their goodbyes, and were out the door.

Henry took a few sips from his drink, wincing at the hot temperature, but despite Emma's warning, he still took a few more sips before forcing himself to stop. He then looked up at Emma and asked, "What do you think of Storybrooke?"

"It's nice." Emma replied. "The people are nice too."

"Except for my mom." Henry replied, this time breaking eye contact with her to stare at the street ahead.

So this is where it was going. After taking a quick sip from her cocoa, Emma then asked, "So, what's the deal with you and your mom?"

"It's not about us." Henry corrected as they crossed the street. "It's about her curse. We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: Identification. I call it 'Operation Cobra'."

 _O...kay._ Emma thought. "Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairy tales."

"Exactly!" Henry stated belatedly. "It's a codename. It'll throw the Queen off the trail."

"So...everyone here is a fairy tale character...they just don't know it." On the list of delusions Emma was aware of, this was a new one. Given how widespread Henry thinks this "problem" is, however, Emma was more than a little worried.

Her stomach rumbled, and the apple in her hand was becoming a little more appetizing. A little bit.

"That's the curse." Henry nodded. "Time's been frozen.. Until you got here."

Emma lifted the apple to her mouth, seconds away from taking a bite when Henry suddenly shouted, "Hey! Where'd you get that?"

"Your mom." Emma told him, a little curious at his reaction.

"Don't eat that!" He shouted again before ripping the apple out of her hand and tossing it far away. He then turned to her and said, "Do me a favor. If my mom offers you another apple, just say no."

 _Well...okay then._ Emma thought. _I guess I'll just starve._ "So...what about their pasts?" Emma asked, still wondering if she's actually glad that he gave her a reason not to eat that apple.

"They don't know." Henry told her, his face taking on a more troubled look at he gave the discarded apple one last suspicious look. "It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything and you'll see."

Emma was trying, she was _really_ trying to understand this kid. Why was he so desperate to believe this? "So...for decades, people have been walking around, in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious?"

"I knew you'd get it!" Henry said happily, and it hurt Emma to realize that he thought that she was on board with this plan. How was she going to tell him that she was only staying for a week now? "That's why we need you." Henry continued. "You're the only one who can stop her curse."

"Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma asked skeptically.

"Yes!" Henry smiled. "And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that, so that should buy us time to figure out who everyone is. I've only known the truth for a little bit, so I haven't had a lot of time to investigate. All I have is a few guesses, so for now most of the pages are being kept in the book."

They had to stop so that Henry could briefly hand Emma his drink, and then retrieve some torn out pages from his storybook. Once that was done, he traded the pages for his drink, taking a few more sips they continued on their way. "I can't risk her finding out about you. That's why I ripped out the end, the part with you in it."

Emma took a look at the pages, and on one of the pages was an illustration that depicted a man in a medieval white shirt, who was possibly injured judging by the blood staining the shirt. He was placing a baby wrapped in a blanket into a wardrobe, and to Emma's shock, the name "Emma" was clearly visible on the baby blanket.

 _It's just a coincidence._ Emma told herself. _Yeah, it's got to be. Emma's kind of a common name, maybe. It's just a character in a storybook._

"That's Prince Charming, who's married to Snow White." Henry pointed at the illustration. "And that baby is you. Your mom and dad are Snow White and Prince Charming!"

"Kid…" Emma trailed off. He was too old to believe in fairy tales this much. Besides, she'd make a pretty shitty princess.

If Henry caught on to her disbelieving tone, he didn't let on. If anything, he was prepared for it. " I know the hero never believes at first, if they did, it wouldn't be a very good story." Henry stated confidently. "If you need proof, take them, read them. But whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are...that would be bad."

At last they'd made it to the school, where many other kids were running into the building, quickly spotting their friends and joining them as they disappeared into the building. Outside the school, near the school bus, was Mary Margaret, who greeted any child that managed to slow down enough to hear her hellos.

"I gotta go." Henry told her, quickly downing the rest of the cocoa, and from the lack of wincing, Emma figured that either it was cool enough to drink, or Henry simply didn't care anymore. He then threw the now empty cup into the trash, and began to walk ahead of Emma. "I'll find you after I'm finished with my tutor, and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me!" That last statement was said with such assurance and hope that Emma couldn't stay silent.

"I never said I did!" She told him.

"Why else would you be here?" He asked, quickly adding a "Thanks for the cocoa!" before he ran into the building.

 _Why else would you be here?_ Henry's words echoed in her mind.

 _For you._ She silently answered, keeping that thought to herself. She wouldn't be here forever. No need to get his hopes up more than she'd involuntarily had.

Mary Margaret approached Emma, looking at Emma with soft approval. "It's good to see his smile back."

Emma countered "I didn't do anything."

"You stayed." Mary Margaret gently argued, her soft expression soon taking on a tinge of worry. "So...does the Mayor know you're still here?"

"Oh, she knows." Emma told Mary Margaret. Then, remembering how the mayor had acted towards the schoolteacher yesterday, Emma wondered if Mary Margaret had a little more insight than the others she'd spoken to. Or at least, unlike Nancy, didn't risk a job termination badmouthing their boss. "What is her deal? She's not a great people person. How did she get elected?" Wasn't one of the main principles of politics "being a little likeable?"

Mary Margaret shrugged. "She's been Mayor as long as I can remember."

"I've been hearing that a lot." Emma mumbled mostly to herself.

Mary Margaret didn't comment on that. Instead she continued, "Besides, no ones brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of...well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that hook, and now he thinks she's the Evil Queen."

With a little grin, Emma jokingly asked "Who does he think you are?"

Mary Margaret scoffed goodnaturedly. "It's silly."

Emma laughed a little. "I just got five minutes of silly." Complete with a 10-year-old throwing away an apple with pure disdain. "Lay it on me."

Mary Margaret paused before admitting with a grin, "Snow White."

The statement should've meant nothing to Emma. Absolutely nothing. It was just a story that inspire the wild imagination of a lonely kid.

So why did her heart jump? Why did she feel stunned? Why did her brain become almost solely focused on the fact that the woman before her was supposedly Snow White.

The harsh sound of the school bell ringing in the distance knocked Emma out of her revery. She just managed to remember where she was when Mary Margaret asked, "Who does he think you are?"

"I'm not in the book." Emma lied. No, not a lie. It was the truth wasn't it? Emma then quickly asked, "Can I ask you a favor? Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy; do you know where I can find the doctor?"

Mary Margaret quickly gave her some directions, and left with a wave.

Emma made her way to the therapist's office, and was glad to at least tack on Mary Margaret as another person in this town that could give good directions.

Emma knew that this was probably going to violate some mental health law, but it wasn't like she was going to force the therapist to talk. She just needed to know what the core of Henry's problems. That way, she could at least try to get some headway into getting him back to the real world before she left.

She just hoped this wouldn't bite her in the ass.

* * *

It hurt to see Fernando again. Truth be told, after realizing that no one except him aged, Henry had done his best to avoid his old playmates. He vaguely remembered playing cops and robbers with Fernando, with the other boy always successfully evading him, and at such a young age Henry thought nothing amiss was going on.

That's why it hurt so much the next year, when he got a little taller and Fernando ran away from him, claiming that he was a stranger.

At the time, Henry just thought that Fernando simply didn't like him anymore, as kids were sometimes known to do. So, while still hurt, he decided to make new friends.

However, every time he did, one year they would all be having fun, and then the next they would act like they'd barely seen him before. Henry kept asking his mom why they did that, and she would just tell him that they didn't deserve them, and probably realized it.

A lie, Henry later realized, and a horrible one at that.

It wasn't about whether or not they deserved him, or vice versa. It was about his own mom trying to keep him away from the truth.

Once Mary Margaret, or Snow White, had given him the book, and he'd learned the truth, so many things began to make sense.

There was a reason why people _seemed_ to know him, but close playmates could barely recognize him.

There was a reason why things never progressed in this town, no matter who tried to leave.

And there was definitely a reason everyone was so afraid of his mom.

Henry loved his mom, in spite of the fact that she tried to make him think he was crazy. He was still really mad about that, and wasn't sure when or if he could forgive her. That didn't mean that he wasn't going to do everything he could to help Emma break the curse.

Everyone in town deserved to know the truth, to live their lives free of a curse.

"Henry?" A voice whispered next to him. It was only then that Henry remembered that he was sitting outside with the rest of his class, listening to Mary Margaret - Snow White, he reminded himself - explained photosynthesis to them. Henry looked to his left, and found Paige had scooted closer to him, a concerned look on her face. Henry didn't know who Paige was supposed to be. The pictures in the storybook were pretty vague when it came to the faces of the people in them, and he couldn't remember any girls with brown hair and light brown hair standing out.

"Are you okay?" Paige whispered, keeping an eye on Mary Margaret, who thankfully didn't notice them.

"Yeah." Henry lied. "I'm fine."

Paige paused, still looking concerned as she whispered again, "You sure?"

"Paige, please." Mary Margaret piped up, causing both children to sit up straighter and share twin looks of embarrassment. "Wait until discussion time to talk with your classmates.

"Sorry Ms. Blanchard." Paige said ashamedly.

Mary Margaret's simply sent a warning, yet soft, look the girl's way. "Now, water synthesizes-"

A throat cleared. Henry's head turned to the right, and there he saw his mom approaching the class with a smile on her face that made Henry worry. "May I speak with my son?" His mom asked, though Henry knew that it wasn't a request.

Mary Margaret quickly closed the book in her hand, placing it on her chair before standing up to walk over to his mom. "We're in the middle of a lesson. Is it important?"

Henry's mom immediately looked displeased. "Do you think I'd be here if it wasn't?" Knowing she'd won, his mom walked around Mary Margaret and towards him, stopping only a few feet away, silently standing there and watching him.

Henry knew that her silence wasn't a request either.

Henry stood up, leaving his things behind to follow his mom away from the class, but not before giving Paige - who still looked worried - a small nod.

It was only when they'd gone far enough so that no one else would hear them that his mom let them stop walking. "Henry, sweetie, I have some bad news." His mom told him as she bent forward to be eye level with him. "The woman you brought here…" _Emma_. Henry's thoughts asserted. "...she's been arrested. She broke into Dr. Hopper's office and stole his files. She's a con woman. She's trying to learn about us in order to take advantage of us. That's why she's sticking around. I'm sorry."

"No you're not." Henry countered. He was catching onto her faster, or maybe she wasn't as fast as she used to be. He might've fallen for her tricks when he was Fernando's age, or even two months ago, but not now. He knew better, and even if she didn't know who Emma was, he wasn't going to let her think she could trick him.

And she wasn't going to drive Emma away. He wasn't going to let her.

"I know you think otherwise, but all I'm doing is trying to protect you." His mom claimed. "This is gonna be good for us, you'll see. Things will be better."

 _For you maybe._ Henry thought furiously, but he kept that to himself. He wanted to break a curse, not get grounded.

The school bell rang in the background, and Henry immediately jumped on the opportunity to get some distance from his mom. "I gotta get back to class."

Without another word to his mom, Henry walked around her to get back to his class, who were already packing up their things. Henry spotted Paige try to catch his eye again, and he noticed that she also looked suspiciously at him mom. That was until one of her friends distracted her with something, and she quickly became entranced with whatever it was they were talking about.

Usually the kids around him looked at his mom with fear, either because they were wary of the mayor being so close to them, or because deep down they knew exactly who she was, and what she did to them. Paige, on the other hand, had suspicion along with that fear.

Deep down, did whoever Paige really was really know the Evil Queen? He'd definitely have to look into that.

Before he realized it, Henry found himself walking towards Mary Margaret.

"Is everything okay Henry?" Mary Margaret asked him.

"No, and I need your help." Henry said, looking behind him to find his mom looking at him and Mary Margaret, though the glare she was sending his teacher (his grandmother), he knew, was definitely aimed at Snow White. Putting her out of his mind, he caught Mary Margaret's attention again. "Emma's in jail for something she didn't do. I need your help to bail her out."

"Emma's in jail?" Mary Margaret asked in surprise. "For what?"

"For theft, but it doesn't matter because she didn't do it." Henry said earnestly. "I know she's new here, but she's a good person, and she doesn't deserve to be in jail for something she didn't do." When he saw the barest hint of hesitancy on Mary Margaret's face, namely because he could _feel_ his mom looking at them, he stepped a tiny bit closer to her." _Please_ believe me."

After a few moments, Mary Margaret said, "Let me close up the classroom first."

"Yes!" Henry excitedly hugged her middle, releasing her just as quickly to pack up his things. "Thank you!"

Henry felt his mom walking away, and he worried about getting Mary Margaret in trouble, but he'd find a way to make it up to her. First, they had to get Emma out of jail.

After Mary Margaret closed up her classroom, they went straight to the sheriff's office. On the way over, Henry tried to figure out why his mom would lie. Why would Emma steal files from Dr. Hopper? What reason did she have to...wait. Oh wow. _Emma is a genius._ Maybe she _did_ steal the files- no wait, that didn't seem right. Would she steal things? Emma didn't seem like a thief, though he'd never actually met one so he wouldn't know. He didn't think Dr. Hopper would lie, but with his mom involved…

Whatever actually happened, he couldn't help but smile at Emma's cunning. Going straight to the therapist to figure out who people are! Why didn't he think of that?

Soon enough, they arrived at the sheriff's office, where Henry saw Graham taking Emma's mugshot. "HEY!" He shouted, running in with Mary Margaret speed walking to keep up with him.

"Henry!" Graham nearly shouted in surprise. "Henry, what are you doing here?"

"His mother told him what happened." Mary Margaret informed the other adults as he walked up to Emma.

"Of course she did." Emma rolled her eyes before looking at Henry. "Henry, I don't know what she said-"

"You're a genius!" Henry praised, finally stopping in front of Emma, only briefly glancing down at her handcuffed wrists.

"What?" Emma asked, acting confused.

Ah, the coy approach. Yeah, he could play that game.

"I know what you were up to." Henry informed her. When she looked confused, he figured that she must've just been playing along. "You were gathering intel." He then lowered his voice to a near whisper. "For Operation Cobra."

"I'm sorry," Graham said slowly, clearly unaware of what was going on. "I'm a bit lost…"

"It's need to know." Henry informed him. Okay, he felt a little bad about dismissing Graham, but Operation Cobra was still in its early stages, and Graham worked for his mom. He couldn't risk compromising the mission. Maybe after some time and if Graham ever got away from his mom, he'd let him in on the secret. For now though, he couldn't be sure that Graham wouldn't report this to his mom.

New mental note: figure out who Graham is.

Specifics: guys who worked closely with his mom.

"Sorry Sheriff." Henry shrugged. "All you need to know is that Ms. Blanchard's gonna bail her out."

At this, Emma was surprised. "You are? Why?"

Mary Margaret jumped a little, apparently surprised that she was being addressed. "I, uh, trust you."

Emma paused. A look came over her face for the briefest moment, and Henry couldn't understand what that look meant. Was it happiness? Sadness? Some combination. Part of it looked like hope. Before he could examine it too closely, Emma's face changed, whatever emotion that came out now hiding beneath an expression that promised some sort of revenge. "Well, if you could uncuff me," Emma extended her cuffed wrists towards Graham, "I have something to do."

Henry couldn't help but smile. Oh yeah, _no way_ his mom was going to drive her out of town.

Graham undid Emma's cuffs, and before they left, he handed her the card for a lawyer.

"Just in case." Graham had said.

Henry peaked at the card, and all he saw was the name "Raymond Fitzroy" before Emma put the card in her pocket.

Note to self: Find that guy later.

* * *

Going to the therapist bit her in the ass. Now Emma was going to get some payback.

Not on the therapist. No, Emma figured out pretty quickly that the meek and kindly doctor was probably intimidated by Regina, just like everyone else in this town, though she would be a little more wary about what she said around him in the future.

It was only after Graham took the handcuffs off that the idea of what to do spawned in Emma's mind.

Emma had only been looking for an ax, but was pleasantly surprised when a kindly old repairman heard her problem (her "need" to chop off an annoying branch), and helpfully gave her a chainsaw.

As Emma powered up the chainsaw, raising it up so that she could saw off a branch of Regina's precious apple tree, Emma would have to find a way to make it up to the old man.

The branch fell with a thump on the ground when Emma heard Regina's angry voice calling out, "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Picking apples." Emma glibly told her as she powered down the chainsaw.

"You're out of your mind." Regina told her as she stopped right in front of Emma, glaring at her with a look that promised retribution.

Emma smiled. "No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off." She'd made a promise to herself to make sure that Henry was okay, and while she'd originally set her deadline to be a week from now, she knew that she'd require an extension. "You're gonna have to do better than that. If you come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of." With the chainsaw in hand, Emma sent out one last "Your move." before walking away.

Emma made it halfway down the street before she heard someone calling her name. Turning around, she saw Nancy jogging towards her before her feet skidded on the street once she got within five feet of Emma.

"Hi, Nancy." Emma said a little confusedly before her mind caught up with, _Oh yeah. She works there...which means that she just saw what happened._

Nancy only confirmed Emma's thoughts. "I just saw the...thing." At the last word, Nancy choked back what Emma realized was a laugh, which was given away by the fact that Nancy looked like she was trying not to smile. "That was…" Nancy continued. "I've never seen anyone take Regina on _that_ blatantly. That was...wow." This time, Nancy didn't bother hiding her smile.

Emma tilted her head. "You're pretty chipper for someone who might have to deal with that." Again, her brain only just caught up with what she was saying, and Emma winced. "Sorry. I'm guessing Regina's not going to be too happy with you."

Nancy shrugged. "She's never happy with me. Sometimes I feel like me cleaning her house by myself isn't the only reason she's paying me." She then placed her hands on her hips. "Look, I didn't just run out of the house to congratulate you on your bravery. I wanted to warn you to be careful. Like I said, no one's ever gone against Regina like that, so she'll definitely want some payback."

"I can take care of myself." Emma told her.

"I'm sure you can." Nancy conceded. "That doesn't change the fact that the mayor's got a well-deserved reputation for going after people who cross her."

"She fired the first shots." Emma told her. "Besides, it's about time someone showed her that she can't walk over everyone."

Emma was about to walk away again when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and instinctively tensed up. Nancy's hand fell away quickly, and it was once again by her side when Emma turned to face her again.

After a few moments, Nancy said, "I like you Emma, I really do. That's why I'm saying this. Regina doesn't play fair, and if she gets inside your head...it would be bad." Nancy's face was soft yet apprehensive, though Emma knew that she was thinking about Regina. "Take care of yourself alright?"

Emma looked at Nancy, and knew that the woman was being truthful, and it made Emma feel better that there were at least three people in this town that, for some reason, actually seemed to like her, at least enough to think she was worth warning. "You too. See you around."

Only then did Emma walk away again, hearing the distant sound of Regina shouting Nancy's name. Emma wasn't lying to Nancy. She was going to show Regina that she had long since stopped being anyone's punching bag, and if she could, she wasn't going to let Regina do the same to anyone else.

Not without a fight.

* * *

Henry stared at the numbers of his math homework until they were swimming in front of him. "I can't do this."

"It's just numbers." Killian explained with a gentle tone, ever so patient. "There's no need to stress or overthink it."

Sometimes Henry thought that the point of math was to frustrate everyone who _couldn't_ understand it.

Henry sighed, and soon enough he saw Killian pull up a chair and sit down next to him. Killian started carefully explaining the concepts of the problems in front of him, and would only go silent when Henry would start trying to figure it out on his own, only interceding when Henry stalled for too long or to praise Henry for getting something right.

"That's it." Killian told Henry with a smile before gently nudging him on the arm. "See? Not so bad was it?"

"For you maybe." Henry said with a sardonic smile. "You know everything."

"Weeeeelll." Killian drew out, and Henry rolled his eyes at his tutor.

"So modest." Henry heard Dada, Killian's part-time library assistant, say as she passed by them, carrying an armful of books.

"That's enough lip from you missy." Killian told her sternly, which was to say, not at all.

"No, please, continue." Henry rested his head on his hands as he smirked at Killian.

"Only happy to!" Dada jumped out from behind an aisle of books. Her black, curly hair bounced a little as she moved. Henry squinted his eyes, because for a second he thought that Dada's shoulder-length hair was longer than it actually was. Maybe it was the curse. Or maybe the math was getting to him.

"Oi!" Killian narrowed his eyes comically at Dada, who silently turned around with a dramatic flourish, but not before sending Killian a smile that promised future teasing.

Henry sighed once Dada continued to put books back on the shelves. "I need to get this done before I go home. Otherwise my mom will kill me. Not literally but still…" Henry knew that his mom was more likely to stop Henry from going to the library if his math grade didn't improve. Henry liked Killian, and getting tutoring lessons was one of the few ways he could see Killian without messing with his mom's schedule.

Turning his head to look at Killian, he saw that his tutor looked concerned.

Killian asked, "How're things going with your mum?"

Henry shrugged. "Okay I guess. She's been a little…" _Hostile? Angry? Evil Queen-ish?_ "...off since Emma came."

Killian could read between the lines. After all, he'd known Regina for as long as he could remember. Regina wasn't one to take competition in any form lightly. The first few months of Henry's tutoring often included the presence of his mother, complete with her silent, judgemental stares or not-so-silent condescension.

Killian opened his mouth to say something, but the ringing of the library phone interrupted him. He made to get up before Dada said, "I'll get it!"

Once he saw Dada go over to answer the phone, Killian focused his attention on Henry. "Speaking of which, how's it feel to have Emma around?"

At this, Henry's face lit up. "I'm good. She's going to help everyone."

"How so?" Killian asked curiously.

Henry felt like telling the truth, and Killian was aware of his belief in the curse, even if he didn't believe it. After all, Killian had been curious to examine the book Henry had become engrossed in. Still… "Sorry, it's need to know." Henry felt a little bad, but like what happened with Graham, Henry knew that Killian was affected like everyone else, so he would have to be eased into it.

"Keeping secrets are we?" Killian tutted good-naturedly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Henry teased back.

Just then, Dada came into view, looking at Henry. "Sorry about this. Henry, your mom says that she needs you home sooner than usual."

Henry asked, "Did she say why?"

Dada's shoulders slumped. "Well, uh, when I asked her why, I think the exact words were 'Do I need a reason?'"

Killian both winced in sympathy and felt a protective feeling in his surge up. "That's alright Dada. I'll take Henry home."

"I'll finish up here." Dada said before going into the aisle, but not before waving at Henry saying, "See you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" Henry said, quickly packing up his things. Once that was done, he and Killian headed out.

As they walked to his house, Henry thought more and more about how Emma was already changing things. No one was remembering anything. Come on, that would be too simple. But the clock tower was moving, time was progressing. It wasn't the same day anymore. Around here, that was a big deal, even if only Henry and his mom realized it.

Henry wondered how his mom cast the curse. Of course he knew _how_ , but he mostly wondered how someone could get to the point where sacrificing the heart of someone you loved seemed worth it. How bad did things have to get before you just decide that you don't care anymore?

Worse, how bad do you have to be, or hurt inside, to be able to sleep when no one else has their freedom, _because of you_?

Henry knew his mom couldn't be completely evil...no not completely evil. She loved him, even if she lied to him, so if she could love him, that means she _could_ love someone.

Henry just wished she would be nicer to people and, you know, not curse anyone.

That was going to change though. Emma was here, and she was going to save everyone. They would get to be a family, and maybe they could save his mom too.

"What're you thinking about?" Killian asked, pulling Henry out of his thoughts.

"Thinking about my mom and Emma." Henry said as they crossed a street, getting closer and closer to his house. "My mom isn't really happy that she's here, but I'm glad Emma's here. Things are going to get better, I know it."

"You know, I actually met Emma last night." Killian mentioned.

"You did?" Henry asked in surprise.

"Mhmm." Killian answered. "I took her to Granny's Bed & Breakfast for a place to stay."

"Thanks." Henry smiled, liking his tutor even more.

"What for?" Killian asked. "All I did was help a new person in town."

 _And probably helped her along her path to save the town,_ Henry thought. "It was still nice of you to help."

"Well." Killian shrugged humbly, clearly not seeing what he did as a big deal. That's when they got to the front of his house. "Well sir, here's your stop."

"Alright, see you tomorrow Killian." Henry said as he waved and walked into the house, noting that Killian waited until Henry was closing the door behind him before he started walking away.

Henry walked towards his mother office, figuring that she'd be there, but his footsteps slowed down and quieted when he heard talking inside. The closer he crept towards the office, the more he was able to hear what was being said. More importantly, he figured out who was saying it.

"I want to make sure he's okay." Henry heard Emma say, and when he got to the open door, he peaked around the door frame to find Emma sitting on a chair, her back turned to him. "The more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially seeing how...troubled...he is."

 _What?_ Henry thought, feeling his heart drop.

"You think he's troubled?" His mom asked.

 _No, no she doesn't._ Henry began to deny in his mind.

Emma quickly put down that thought. "We'll, he's in therapy, and I only got through a couple pages of his shrink's notes before you had me arrested. But putting all that aside—he thinks everyone in this town is a fairytale character."

"And you don't?" His mom prompted.

 _Yes she does_. Henry thought, pleading for it to be true.

"How can I?" Emma said, and Henry felt something squeeze inside his chest. "The poor kid can't even tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."

"You think I'm crazy?" Henry asked as he finally made himself known. He looked into Emma's eyes, and...no, he had to look away. He could barely make eye contact. Did she ever believe him? Did she...how could he be so stupid? Did he just want her to believe so badly that he made it up in his head? Did he want to believe that he wasn't alone in knowing and acknowledging the truth that he imagined something that wasn't there?

Emma tried to say something, but Henry wouldn't listen. He just turned around and ran out of his house. He only slowed to a walk about a block or two away, and that was partially because someone chased after him.

"Henry? Henry! Hold on a minute!" Killian said as he caught up to him, and upon looking at Henry's face - he felt even more stupid about the fact that he felt like crying, and his face must've shown it - Killian looked very worried. "Hey, what happened? Did something happen with your mum?"

Henry didn't want to answer, and frankly, he didn't think he could without blubbering. He let himself hope way too fast. He hoped that Emma would just understand things better. Would she ever believe him?

Killian kneeled down so that he was eye-level with Henry. "Come on now. You can tell me. What's wrong?"

"Can you-" Henry stopped himself when he heard a waver in his voice, then cleared his throat. "Can you take me to Dr. Hopper? I think I need to…" Henry stopped himself when he heard another waver.

Killian just patted his shoulder and said, "Sure, lad." before standing up and walking with Henry to Dr. Hopper.

All the while Henry kept thinking, _Would anyone ever believe him? Would he ever be able to feel like he's not losing his mind?_

Henry felt afraid of the answer.

* * *

Of all the brazen, conniving, soulless…!

Emma took a sip of the cocoa Mary Margaret placed in front of her. Ideally it would've been alcohol, but Emma figured that she shouldn't push the woman who invited a total stranger into her home.

...Mary Margaret's seeming lack of sense for self preservation worried Emma.

She was then surprised that the taste was familiar _and_ welcome.

"Cinnamon?" Emma asked Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret who, bless her, was bringing a plate of cookies to the table, suddenly looked quite embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have asked. It's a little quirk of mine. Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Emma told her, happily surprised over their similar quirk She declined the cookie Mary Margaret offered her, and Emma couldn't help but smile at how thoughtful and weirdly (in a good way) nice the woman was. "When you bailed me out, you said…" Emma paused, hoping that she wasn't about to embarrass herself by doing what the foster system warned against: opening up. "...that you trusted me. Why?"

Mary Margaret wrapped her hand around her own mug of cocoa, and a thoughtful look and a warm smile emerged on her face. "It's strange." The schoolteacher finally said. "Ever since you arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling, like we've met before. I mean, I know it's crazy."

"I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of crazy." Emma told her kid showing up after ten years out of nowhere, and nearly ran over a wolf no one else has seen.

Oh, and everyone in Storybrooke is apparently a fairytale character. Can't forget that.

"For what it's worth, I think you're innocent." Mary Margaret said.

"Of breaking and entering, or just in general?" Emma asked.

"Whichever makes you feel better." Mary Margaret joked, causing both of them to laugh.

Eventually the laughter died down, and Emma remembered what brought her to Mary Margaret's place. What was left of her smile fell away, and guilt overcame her mind.

Dr. Hopper's words came back to haunt her. _To destroy his imagination would be...would be devastating._

She'd tried to nudge him away from him. No, she'd tried to avoid giving him a solid answer on whether or not she believed him, which she didn't. This curse was just a fantasy, but she knew that something big must be going on with the kid for it to be so pervasive. She'd known a few kids like that. The ones who went so far into their own heads because they couldn't handle what was really going on. In Emma's experience, people tended to leave those kind of kids alone, either because their problems were too overwhelming to handle, or because no one wanted to be around the crazy kid in the house.

She'd never known what kind of damage that did to them in the long run, as she'd tried not to get attached in general.

"Doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did or didn't do. I'm leaving." Emma said as she looked away from the woman next to her, remembering how Mrs. Lucas had evicted her, and soon after Regina called her to her house and things went to shit soonafter. Maybe this _would_ help Henry in the long run. She'd clearly proven that she wasn't capable of helping him. She then looked back at Mary Margaret. "Thank you for everything, but I think it's for the best. If I stay, Henry's only gonna keep getting hurt."

So why did saying that make Emma feel even worse?

"What happens if you go?" Mary Margaret asked.

None of the answers Emma came up with were ones she wanted to verbalize, so she chose to remain silent.

"I think the very fact that you want to leave is why you have to stay." Mary Margaret pressed on. "You care about him. Who will protect Henry if you won't?"

 _Who will back him up when I'm gone?_ , Emma thought.

 _It's nice to see his smile again_ , Mary Margaret's words earlier in the day came back in her mind.

 _Maybe Henry is troubled, maybe he is crazy, but he's a sweet kid._ Emma thought firmly. _He's a sweet and smart kid who had his heart crushed, and I can't just let things end here._

Emma didn't know what happened to those kids who retreated into themselves, and much as it pained her, she wasn't optimistic.

She can stay though. She wasn't a lonely little girl anymore. There was a kid in town who needed her, or at least thought so. Whether or not she was capable, even if she was terrified at the prospect of failing spectacularly, she couldn't just give up.

Emma thanked Mary Margaret for the cocoa again, taking a few sips in an attempt to get as much of it as she could before heading out.

So what if she'd have to sleep in her car for a while? She'd slept in worst.

Emma went over to Dr. Hopper's office, and soon raced up the stairs, the torn out storybook pages in hand, in the hopes of finding Henry there. She was surprised to find the librarian from last night, Killian Jones, sitting on a chair close to the therapist's closed office door.

"Hey." Emma asked, only marginally slowing down her steps. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Killian said in slight confusion.

"No time for that." Emma said. "Is Henry in there?"

"Uh-" Was all Killian got out before Emma, in a bid of impatience and desperation, went into the therapist's office.

Emma saw Henry sitting on a couch, his head down and his back to her.

Dr. Hopper stood up. "Miss Swan. Look, I can explain. The Mayor forced me-"

"I know. Don't worry about it. I get it." Emma interrupted as she walked around him to address Henry. "Henry, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to talk to you." Henry cut across, refusing to look at her.

"Miss Swan, if she knew you were here-" Dr. Hopper started.

"To hell with her." She spit out, noticing that Killian had entered the room, and was silently observing her. Shaking off the feeling of being closed in with more people in the room, Emma sat down in the chair Dr. Hopper previously occupied. "Henry, there is one simple reason I stayed here - you. I wanted to get to know you."

"You think I'm crazy." Henry protested tersely. An angry, almost defiant, look on his face that Emma knew from experience was just a way to protect himself from feeling vulnerable.

"No, I think the curse is crazy. And it is." Emma sighed, knowing that she didn't want to lose him. "But that doesn't mean that it isn't true."

At that, Henry spared her a glance before looking away.

Even if it wasn't real, it was real enough for Henry, and dismissing it would just make things harder on him. "It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world." Emma continued. "So, what do I know? Maybe it is true."

Henry looked frustrated. "But you told my mom-"

"What she needed to hear." Emma said, and was rewarded by another brief but curious glance from Henry. Glancing at Dr. Hopper and Killian, the two men quickly caught onto what she was doing, and actually looked pleased and proud of her, respectively. Emma looked at Henry again before saying, "What I _do_ know...is that if the Curse is real, the only way to break it is by tricking the Evil Queen...into thinking that we are nonbelievers." _That_ caught Henry's attention, and he turned his head to look at her more fully. "'Cause, that way, she's not on to us. Isn't that what Operation Cobra was all about? Throwing her off the trail?"

Henry then gave a big, beautiful, happy smile. "Brilliant!" He told her, sitting up more fully, hope lighting up those beautiful eyes of his.

Emma spotted Killian making a 'keep going' motion with his right hand, and that he had an intrigued look on his face as he watched her, quite intently in fact.

Emma cleared her throat. " I read the pages, and Henry, you're right — they are dangerous. There is only one way to make sure that she never sees them." Emma made sure Henry was watching her as she stood up, and walked over to the fireplace to set the pages to the flames. "Now, we have the advantage."

Henry suddenly stood up, ran over and hugged her middle tightly. "I knew you were here to help me."

Emma didn't miss the little hopefully waver in his voice, and once she got over her shock, she held him back. God she was holding her baby. This was the first time she was holding her baby.

"That's right, kid. I am." Emma told him, and before she could get too emotional, she gently broke the embrace. "And nothing, not even a curse, is gonna stop that." They hugged once again, and Emma put it in her mind to try to do so again without so many people around. Okay it was only two, but still, she liked the idea of just being able to hold her kid as long as she could without eyes on her.

The session promptly ended, and Killian joined them on the way out.

Henry walked in between Emma and Killian as they just aimlessly roamed the streets at night. Emma knew she'd have to take him back home at some point, but for now she was content with living in the moment.

"This is going to be great." Henry said. "We're on a real espionage mission now. I know that my mom knows I know, but she won't know that you know, you know?"

"Yeah…" Emma sent a quirked smile Henry's way, and she saw that Killian was doing the same thing. Emma felt her smile automatically soften, and she was more aware of the fact that her breathing slowed down, and that something was pulsing, thumping in her ears, coming from inside her chest- _Focus Emma_.

She then said to Killian, "By the way, you never did say why you were at Dr. Hopper's office."

"Killian walked me there after the...you know…" Henry trailed off. He soon perked up. "Killian tutors me after school. He was trying to help me figure out why math is so evil."

"Math is not evil and you know it." Killian told him with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile.

"Do I though?" Henry quipped, and the two of them shared a chuckle.

Killian looked at Emma. "So, how's Granny's treating you?"

At the reminder that she was essentially homeless, Emma had to suppress a small cringe on her face. "It's...it happened."

"Happened, past tense?" Killian inquired.

Emma, knowing that Henry was still watching her, didn't want to ruin the mood, so she said, "I just need to adjust, you know?"

"Right." Killian said, and something in Emma told her that he knew things hadn't gone well with Granny's. "Well, if you ever need a guide or a place to take shelter, you know where to find me."

"Yeah." Emma said with a small smile. "I guess I do."

Henry then looked between Emma and Killian. "I think you two will get along."

"Oh?" Emma asked, and she saw a curious look on Killian's face that must've matched her own. The two made eye contact again, and this time she couldn't really look away. He admittedly had nice looking eyes, but something about them just made her feel welcome, even a little safe.

Henry simply looked between them again, and with a knowing smile he shrugged, "Yeah, it's just a feeling."

* * *

The pirate never seemed one for domesticity. Something about this wretched world, Cora pondered, had a way of taming the most unruly men that seemed to strip away bits of their survival instinct and dignity.

Cora wasn't sure if she approved of the change.

She witnessed Hook walking along the street happily with the Savior, as well as Regina's son.

Cora remembered times when she would spot Regina with the boy, and she knew that the boy must've come from outside Storybrooke. How else could he age when the young maid that worked for the old shewolf kept her baby in her baby for twenty-eight years?

Regina must have been truly desperate to bring up a boy who could eventually suss out that something was wrong with this town, and potentially ruin things.

Not that she was complaining. After all, the sooner the curse was broken, the sooner she could take off the horrid skin she had subjected herself to. She couldn't use magic to alleviate her pains, and despite being a Land Without Magic, Storybrooke was such an oxymoron that apparently the rules of what should and should be possible applied at the whims of who knows what. Cora doubted that even Regina knew that depth of how unstable magic was here.

Cora wasn't worried about not getting her magic back. She could do it on her own, but the problem was that she would need time, and she didn't know if this town's grasp on magic would upset the costume she'd painstakingly taken on.

She'd be more worried if she didn't think that Rumplestiltskin didn't have some stored cache of magic somewhere in town. But where?

Regardless, the time to reveal herself had yet to come, and Cora would need to find potential allies in the meantime, because from the looks of it, the former bloodthirsty and merciless scourge of the seas seemed content to connect with a woman far above his station and a boy Cora may have use for.

Cora had no idea if the boy, named after her weak husk of a husband, was a bastard or not. Judging from the savior's age, she must have been quite young when she had the 10-year-old. Still, it didn't matter who sired him, but his mother was still Snow White's daughter. He was also the grandson of Prince Charming, but more importantly he was King George's legal great-grandson. If she could just eliminate the current claimants and legitimize the boy-

Look at her, getting ahead of herself. She hadn't survived this long by being hasty. The intemperate nature of her youth notwithstanding.

So, Cora watched, and she wondered just how much of an unnecessary complication her supposed ally would be in the future.

If he could be reined in, then it was fine.

If not...well, it's not like pirates are a rare commodity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright that was chapter 2!
> 
> And since I know that at least some of you are confused about who some of these new characters are, here's a list below:
> 
> Nancy Evans/Maid Marian
> 
> Fernando Evans/Roland
> 
> Alan/Little John
> 
> Dada/Rapunzel
> 
> I'll name more as things go on, and feel free to ask anything for clarification :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought about the chapter in the review box below. Expect an update same time next week!
> 
> See you soon!


	4. Who Is John Doe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this one, we finally get meet David, CS get a few moments, Henry and Killian's bond shows more, and Regina isn't exactly pleased with these developments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people! It is 2018 and this is the first chapter of the new year. 
> 
> Thanks to all the people who read the past chapters, and are reading this chapter, and a special thanks to Can'tEscapeMyFandoms for helping me write this.
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).
> 
> Everyone feel free to leave a comment and any questions you have after you finish reading this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_October 27, 2011_

A knock on her window startled her. Emma had just been minding her own business, getting back into her car after her talk with Mary Margaret - which both of them needed after the schoolteacher's bad date with a doctor - and someone decided it was a good idea to startle her.

Looking through the window, Emma saw Killian bending over to be eye level with her, his right hand extended towards the window where the knuckle of his forefinger hit the glass. And he had the gall to smile.

Emma silently sighed before once again lowering the window. "Hey." Emma said to him.

"Hey yourself." Killian said as his hand dropped down. "I just happened to be around, and I wanted to know if you wanted to get something to eat."

"Thanks, but I'm good." Emma told him, and just then her traitorous stomach rumbled.

Stupid need to eat for survival.

Killian gave her a look revealing that he clearly heard that. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." Emma told him with a somewhat unconvincing tone of finality.

Killian gave her an arched eyebrow, clearly bemused before giving the area around them a cursory glance. "It's getting awfully late. You heading back to the inn soon?"

Oh, right. She never told him. Hell Mary Margaret had only just found out about her current situation. Might as well set the record straight. "Granny...had to take back my room key." Emma told him.

"What?" Killian's head tilted back in surprise. "Why?"

Oh yeah, another thing she didn't tell him. Sighing, Emma continued, "Because Granny's Bed & Breakfast has...a 'No-Felons' rule."

Killian's face clued her in that he quickly understood her meeting, but if she expected immediate judgment or any sign of condemnation from this man, he quickly disappointed. "Well, that puts a damper on things then. How's house-hunting going?"

Heartened a little by how he just seemed to go with it, Emma said, "Not so much house-hunting as room-hunting. It's okay though. My car's been a good spot to stay at so far."

"You're sleeping in your car?" Killian questioned, a line of worry appearing on his face.

"Relax. I've been in worst dives." Emma shrugged, trying to be casual.

 _You know if things get cramped, I do have a spare room._ Mary Margaret's thoughts sprang to mind before Emma mentally waved them away.

"I don't know, you could…" Killian shrugged a little... _shyly_. "You could stay at my place." He probably caught the look on her face, so he amended, "I could take the chair, or the floor. Just until you find a place of your own. I wasn't, uh, trying to put it in any….I'm just going to stop now." Poor man was going red at the cheeks.

Emma gave him a quirked smile. "I'm fine. Really. You don't need to worry about me." It was a nice sentiment though.

Killian seemed ready to say something, but he stopped himself. He probably figured that Emma was prepared to sit in her car all night if need be. So, with a concerned glance that morphed itself into a pleasant expression, he softly said, "Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me."

With that he left, and Emma found herself saying, "I guess I do."

Thankfully, he was too far away to hear her.

* * *

_October 28, 2011_

Mary Margaret smiled at the sight of her students going around to patients, who mostly consisted of the elderly who were sick. While some of them were a little shy about going up to new people, they got over it soon enough. Mary Margaret cast a glance at the colorful "GET WELL" banner hanging from the ceiling of the room, and then gently placed a small vase of flowers with small white petals on one of the patient's tables.

That's when she noticed Henry in the ICU, sitting by the bedside of one of the only two coma patients in the entire hospital.

Henry reached up to touch John Doe's face when Mary Margaret walked into the room.

"Henry." Mary Margaret called out, glad that her tone gently discouraged Henry from taking further, potentially inappropriate action. You can't just start touching a coma patient. "We could really use your help with the decorations."

"Is Mr. Doe going to be okay, Ms. Blanchard?" Henry asked concernedly.

Mary Margaret smiled a little, both at Henry's innocence and his concern for a total stranger. "His name's not John Doe, honey. That's just what they call people when they don't know who they are."

"Do _you_ know who he is?" Henry asked, and something about the way he said 'you' indicated that he thought she _should_ know.

"Nope." Mary Margaret told him as she stepped further into the room until she was by John Doe's bedside as well. "I just bring him flowers on my rounds."

"What's wrong with him?" Henry asked.

"I don't know." Mary Margaret answered with a soft sigh. "He's been like this for as long as I've been volunteering." None of the doctors could figure out what put him into the coma, so no one could really figure out a way on how to get him out of it.

Henry then cast a glance at the room a little ways away, which they could see through the windows of the ICU. "What about her?" Henry asked. "What happened to the lady in the coma?"

"Oh, um, I don't know too much about it. She just...things got bad, and she went into a coma." Mary Margaret lied, and rather unconvincing judging by Henry's thankfully silent reaction. Mary Margaret didn't feel entirely comfortable about telling a young boy about how the young woman in the other room, Rhea Sylvan, willfully swallowed some poison, and ended up in a coma as a result.

Or so everyone says.

Turning his attention back to John Doe, Henry inquired, almost hopefully, "Does he have any family or friends?"

"No one's claimed him." Mary Margaret said. No one ever visited him, and Mary Margaret just thought that was terribly sad. The least she could do was bring him some flowers, even if he didn't know they were there. Maybe if he woke up and there was no one around, he would see that someone was thinking of him.

"So...he's all alone?" Henry, the sweet boy, seemed quite disheartened about this.

Mary Margaret couldn't help but agree. "Yeah...it's quite said."

"You're _sure_ you don't know him?" Henry piped up again, as if prompting her to say otherwise.

"Course I'm sure." Mary Margaret told him resolutely. "Come on. You shouldn't be in here." Mary Margaret then led out the reluctant young boy, who couldn't help but steal one more glance at John Doe.

 _Poor man_ , Mary Margaret thought. _Maybe someday someone will find him._

Until then, Mary Margaret hoped that she and her little flowers could help a little.

* * *

"I found your father - Prince Charming."

Henry, Emma was reminded, didn't waste time when it came to the curse.

After school, Emma walked Henry to the playground near the shore, both of them sat together on the top of one of the wooden castle's railings.

Still, the kid could learn to use a little tack, because starting off a sentence with 'I found your father', and claiming he's a fairytale character, didn't exactly feel good.

"Henry…" She began to admonish.

"He's in the hospital, in a coma. See the scar?" Henry pushed on, pointing to an illustration on the the book where, yes, one of the blond, male characters had a scar on his cheek. "He has one too."

Emma shrugged. "So? Lots of people have scars." Besides, the picture was too vague to compare anyone to it without jumping through a few hoops.

"In the same place?" Henry countered. "Don't you see what this means? The curse is keeping them apart with the coma. Now they're stuck without each other. We have to tell Ms. Blanchard we found her Prince Charming."

Emma liked Mary Margaret, which is why she didn't think 'Status: currently in a coma' made for good dating material. "Okay, kid." Emma started, and immediately saw Henry tense up, prepared for whatever argument she was about to put his way. "Telling someone their...soul mate is in a coma is probably not helpful. Not having a happy ending is painful enough, but giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse."

Henry, absorbed this information, only paused for a second. "But what if I'm right? We know who they are. Now they have to know."

"And how do you intend to make that happen?" Emma asked, wondering how far he was going to push this.

"By reminding him." Henry said. "Maybe, because he's in a coma, the curse affected him differently. We have to get her to read their story to John Doe. Then, maybe, he'll remember who he is."

Emma took in a deep breath. She knew that denying his request would prompt Henry to take action on his own, and given his previous actions, she didn't want to risk that he would take drastic measures to get what he wanted.

So, Emma tried a different route. "Okay." She told him.

"Okay?" Henry asked in tone of near disbelief combined with complete enthusiasm.

"Yeah, we'll do it." She told him. "But we'll do it my way. Let me ask her. We'll meet tomorrow at Granny's for breakfast. Sound good?"

Henry gave her a smile. "Definitely."

This could be a first step into getting Henry to realize that he's wrong on his own. When nothing happens, it'll be a gentle nudge in the right direction. She just needed to get Mary Margaret to go along with it.

Later that day, after Emma dropped Henry off at the library for his tutoring session with Killian, Emma proposed the idea to Mary Margaret.

"You want me to read to a coma patient?" Mary Margaret asked as she carried two mugs of cocoa with cinnamon, trying to wrap her head around what Emma just asked of her.

"Henry thinks it will help him remember who he was." Emma explained as she accepted her mug.

"And...who does he think he was?" Mary Margaret asked curiously.

"Prince Charming." Emma answered as she took a sip.

That's when the implications of Henry's recent identification dawned on the schoolteacher. "And if I'm Snow White, he thinks...me...and him…"

"He has a very active imagination, which is the point." Emma continued. "I can't talk him out of his beliefs, so we need to show him. Play along, do what he says and then maybe, just maybe…"

Maybe this will help Henry face the real world, and he'll be better off then.

Mary Margaret's understanding expression, for some reason, made Emma feel better. Well, except for the sad undertone. "He'll see that fairy tales are just that. That there's no such thing as love at first sight or first kiss. He'll see reality."

"Something like that." Emma said. She just wanted him to let go of this. She didn't want to hurt him. That's why she was trying to ease him out of this phase.

Mary Margaret nodded slowly. "Well...sadly, this plan is rather genius. We get him to the truth without hurting him."

"I told him that we'll meet tomorrow for breakfast at Granny's." Emma said as she pulled out Henry's storybook. "And you will give a full report." Emma then let the storybook thud on the counter for emphasis.

"Well," Mary Margaret breathed out, "I suppose I'll get ready for my date. I guess I'll have to do all the talking."

"Thanks." Emma told her gratefully.

Mary Margaret started, "Now...any progress on-"

Emma gently interrupted her. "Ah! Let's deal with one thing at a time."

Mary Margaret raised her hands in surrender. "Fair enough." She then put her hands down, and picked up her mug. "Cheers."

Emma picked up her own mug, and clinked it against Mary Margaret's before they took a drink.

Let's hope things go according to plan, though Emma was good at improvising.

* * *

Mary Margaret felt a little silly walking into the hospital, prepared to read a story to a man in a coma, in the hopes that he'd magically wake up.

 _People talk to people in comas all the time, right?_ Mary Margaret asked herself as she stepped into John Doe's room.

Sitting in the chair at his beside, Mary Margaret found herself talking to him. "Look, I know this is odd, but I'm doing it for...a friend." Mary Margaret didn't know if Emma would classify them as such. She wasn't the type to just let people in, but hopefully that would change. Still, Mary Margaret made a promise. "So please, just, bear with me."

Mary Margaret opened the storybook, resting it in her lap as she sifted through the pages. Eventually, she found herself in the middle of the story about Snow White and Prince Charming, and began reading to John Doe. As stories went, this wasn't a bad one. It was a new take on the various iterations of Snow White that she'd heard of. For one, Snow White here was a thief that gave her Prince Charming a scar on his chin, kind of like the one John Doe had on his…

Mary Margaret shook her head, realizing that she had stopped reading, and forced herself to focus and continue. She needed to see this through after all.

Plus, Mary Margaret had to hand it to whoever wrote this. She was getting a little emotional over what she was reading. No wonder Henry was so engrossed in it. "...They didn't need words to express what they felt in their hearts, for it was here, in the shadow of the troll bridge, that their love was born, where they knew, no matter how they were separated, they would always-"

Mary Margaret's heart jumped up her throat when she felt a hand on hers. Though the grasp was gentle, Mary Margaret couldn't help but give a small shout, and she turned her head to find that John Doe's hand was the one on hers. Mary Margaret looked at her more intently, waiting to see a flicker of his eyes underneath his eyelids, any movement to indicate the he was faking his sleep. But there was nothing. John Doe remained motionless except for the deep, gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Just then, someone ran into the room. Mary Margaret saw that it was one of the hospital guards, a tan Asian woman with her hair in a tight ponytail, who immediately surveyed the room.

"What is it?" She demanded urgently. "I heard shouting. Is anyone hurt?" She then looked suspiciously at John Doe's hand on Mary Margaret's. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Mary Margaret told her honestly. "I was just reading to him and…"

"Did he wake up?" The guard, who judging by the name tag was apparently 'L. Wen', inquired as she stepped further into the room.

"I…" Mary Margaret trailed off, unable to answer the guard.

L. Wen then walked out of the room, telling Mary Margaret to stay there as she got Dr. Whale. Soon enough, Dr. Whale came into the room with L. Wen leading the way, and Dr. Whale checked the instruments. However, Dr. Whale concluded that nothing had changed. John Doe was still in a coma. Dr. Whale surmised that maybe it was just a freak accident or a sudden twitch of the limbs, and that could've been a reasonable explanation.

So why didn't it sit well with Mary Margaret.

Still, Dr. Whale concluded that visiting hours were over, and that Mary Margaret needed to go.

L. Wen escorted Mary Margaret out, and told her to stay safe as she went home.

On the way to her apartment, Mary Margaret thought about the story she read to John Doe over and over in her head, and how gently John Doe's hand rested on hers.

* * *

_October 29, 2011_

Henry just finished his breakfast when Emma came back from the girl's room, her white blouse exchanged for one of his mom's silk ones. He was so excited about Mary Margaret getting in on Operation Cobra, even as a temporary agent, that he tried to wolf down his food before Emma made him slow down.

"Thanks for the shirt." Emma said as she sat down, tugging on the fabric to adjust it before a dawning look came over her face. "Hey, is this your mother's?"

"She'll never notice." He told her with a conspiratorial smile.

"Where does she think you are anyway?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Playing Whac-A-Mole." He told her simply.

"And she bought that?" Emma asked disbelievingly.

Henry shrugged. "If she wants to believe it, so she does."

"Imagine that." Emma replied in a deadpan voice.

That's when Mary Margaret entered the diner.

Henry immediately started smiling. "She's here."

Emma then told him, "Hey, don't get your hopes up. We're just getting started, okay?"

The first words out of Mary Margaret's mouth were, "He woke up."

"What?" Emma asked in shock.

"I knew it." Henry said triumphantly.

Mary Margaret seemed to be trying her very best to put words coherently together. "I mean, he didn't 'wake up' wake up, but he grabbed my hand."

"He's remembering." Henry said. This was going better than he thought.

Emma motioned for him to wait before turning to Mary Margaret. "What did the doctor say?"

"That I imagined it, but I'm not crazy." Mary Margaret as she sat next to Henry. "I know it happened. One of the guards saw- well she didn't see it happen when it did, but she found his hand on mine, which in hindsight could be explained away as me putting it there-" Mary Margaret stopped herself before firmly stating, "I know what happened. I know what I saw."

"We have to go back." Henry insisted, his mind racing with ideas on what to do next, and he blurted out the first answer that came to mine. "You have to read to him again."

Mary Margaret opened her mouth to say something, stopped herself, and then just quickly nodded. "Let's go." She then slid out of the booth, quickly followed by Henry.

"Wait, wait!" Emma called out, bringing both Henry and Mary Margaret to a stop as she stood up to face Mary Margaret. Henry was already at the door. "What?"

"If I got through to him, if we made a connection…" Mary Margaret trailed off.

"You don't believe…" Emma trailed off with somewhat stunned expression.

"That he's Prince Charming?" Mary Margaret inquired. "Of course not." Well then. "Somehow, some way, I touched him." Mary Margaret then turned around, and Henry opened the door to let her out. He gave Emma a look, silently asking her if she was coming or not. Emma just sighed, grabbed her coat, and headed out of the diner with him.

The three of them soon got to the hospital, where a new complication, and not John Doe, awaited them.

"He's missing." Graham said as he held the three of them back, preventing them from entering the ICU that now lacked Prince Charming-turned-John Doe.

That's when Henry noticed, to his dismay, that his mom was in the room too. Did she do something to him? Did she somehow learn that John Doe was waking up? She didn't kill him did she?

That's when his mom noticed him, and walked out of the room, giving Emma a displeased look. "What the hell are you doing here?" That's when she noticed Henry too, and that's when his previous happiness turned a little damp as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, leaning down so that her stern look was eye level with him.. "And you. I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?"

Henry _really_ hoped that he wasn't going to be grounded right now. Not when Prince Charming just got here.

"What happened to John Doe?" Mary Margaret asked Graham as Henry's mom stood up straight again. "Did someone take him?"

Whoever it was, Henry figured John Doe would have an easier time with them than a comatose Prince Charming would do with the Evil Queen.

"We don't know yet." Graham answered. "His IVs were ripped out but there's no sign for sure there's a struggle."

If someone had a tough time handling a guy in a coma, Henry almost pitied them.

Still, if it was who Henry thought it was… "What did you do?" Henry asked his mom.

"You think I had something to do with this?" His mom sounded convincingly offended.

"It is curious that the mayor is here." Emma asked, and Henry felt grateful about the backup.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact." His mom replied.

 _That's convenient._ Henry thought.

"You know him?" Mary Margaret asked innocently.

"I found him on the side of the road years ago with no ID." His mom said. "I brought him here."

"Mayor Mills saved his life." Dr. Whale stated as she stepped into view.

 _Is that why she did it?_ Henry asked himself. _Did it even happen like she said it did?_

"Will he be okay?" Mary Margaret asked the doctor.

"Okay?" Dr. Whale asked in a tone that made Henry stare at him blankly. No need to be so sarcastic. "The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision. He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, 'okay' might be a pipe dream."

Okay, not good.

"Well them, let's quit yapping and start looking." Emma told them as she turned around to start her own search.

"That's what we're doing." His mom told Emma, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn back towards the group. "Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son…" his mom grabbed his hand, and her grip was tight enough to tell him that she wasn't kidding around. "...I guess I'm going to have to keep my _son_ away from you. Enjoy my shirt," _Whoops_ , Henry thought. "because that's all you're getting."

His mom turned to Graham. "Sheriff, find John Doe. You heard Dr. Whale. Time is precious." That's when Regina pulled Henry forward, a silent command to leave.

It was only when they were in her car that she gave him a verbal command.

"I've been lenient towards you, as of late." His mom said, her eyes not leaving the road.

 _You have?_ Henry thought incredulously.

Unfortunately, his mom caught that look. "Don't give me that look. You've run away, you've accused me of being involved in a _crime_ -" His mom stopped herself when her voice started to get louder. She took in a deep breath before slowly breathing it out. "I only want what's best for your Henry. I'm your mother. That woman is not." His mom then spoke over Henry as he opened his mouth to speak, "She gave you up when you were an infant. She clearly didn't have what it takes to look after you then, and I seriously doubt her abilities now."

Once they arrived at the house, his mom walked with him as they got to his room, and waited until he sat on his bed before placing one hand on the door frame, and another on the door handle. "Stay here."

His mom then closed the door, and Henry heard the clacking of heels slowly fade away.

 _Stay here,_ his mom had said.

 _Yeah right_ , Henry thought. Pulling his sheets off his bed, Henry immediately began thinking of the benefits of having a prepared sheet-rope ladder.

* * *

Soon after Regina left with Henry, Emma and the others learned that it had been twelve hours since Dr. Whale saw John Doe, so they went to the security room to look at the security footage.

And in the security room, they found on angry guard coldly berating a more timid and nervous looking guard.

Once they heard the door opening, the two guards in the room stopped talking, and that's when Emma also noticed a gruff-looking man in a janitor's uniform standing off to the side awkwardly.

Graham stepped forward. "What's going on?"

The janitor gave a look that stated that he clearly wasn't going to get involved, while the angry guard - whose nametag said 'L. Wen' - was standing, and then she looked at the seated, nervous-looking guard. "You want to tell him or should I?"

"I…" The guard, whose nametag said 'W. Necchi', trailed off.

"Walter?" Graham addressed the male guard gently.

"I...fell asleep." Walter said. He then added, "I'm sorry, I swear I'm not doing this on purpose. I even asked Lea," he cast a glance a the female guard, "to help me by getting some coffee, which I know isn't easy to do at this hour and the hospital coffee pots aren't great but-"

Something suddenly occurred to Emma. "Wait, _when_ did you ask her to get the coffee?"

When Walter and Lea roughly confirmed the time, Emma looked to Graham and started, "You think we could-"

"Rewind the footage to that time to see John Doe?" Graham finished her thought. "Definitely. Can you two bring up the feed for that time?"

The two guards were quick to rewind the tapes for that time….or at least they tried to.

"That's strange." Lea muttered.

"What is?" Mary Margaret asked.

"We're looking at the wrong tape." Emma surmised, pointing at the screen. "This is the ward where Henry's class put up decorations. If this was really the tape from last night, we'd see the banners the kids hung."

As Lea switched out the tapes, Graham asked the people around them if they saw anything. Unfortunately none of them have.

"Here we go." Lea said as the correct tape began playing, and once it was set to the time Walter and Lea talked about, and that's when they saw John Doe.

Amazingly, Mary Margaret's claims that he touched her hand on his own seemed more plausible, because Emma saw John Doe just...get up and walk out the door. He stumbled with shaky limbs and was in a dazed movement.

"He walked out alone." Mary Margaret stated in surprise before breathing out a small sigh of relief. "He's okay."

"Four hours ago." Emma said, because she wasn't nearly optimistic about the chances of a man who just got out of a coma, then walked out into the cold fall air in nothing but a hospital gown. "Where does this door lead?"

It was the janitor who said, in an appropriately grim tone, "The woods."

Immediately, Graham went into sheriff mode. "Leroy, Walter," Graham addressed the janitor and the tired guard, "I need you to find flashlights just in case it gets dark before we find him. Lea," Graham addressed the female guard who stood at attention, "Go inform Dr. Whale about John Doe, and tell him to make any necessary preparations for taking care of him when we find him, because we are finding him, understand me?" At their nods, Graham said, "Alright, now go."

The three of them then left the room to do their assigned tasks.

Graham turned to Emma and Mary Margaret, and asked, "Would you two-"

"Join the search? Of course." Mary Margaret spoke up immediately, before looking at Emma apologetically looking at Emma. "Well, I will, I don't know if you-"

"Don't worry, I will." Emma told her. "Let's get to it."

Mary Margaret nodded, and headed out out of the room. Emma made to follow her when Graham stopped her with a gentle touch on her arm before letting his hand drop. She turned to him and asked, "What's up?"

"I just…" Graham started, "I just wanted to say, don't let what Regina said get to you. She can be a little harsh sometimes-"

"Sometimes?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

Graham sent her a look. "The point is, just do the best you can, you know?"

Emma, thankful for the awkward but nice gesture, nodded. "I know."

Graham nodded back with a smile. "Good. Now, let's go find a missing man."

* * *

After a close call with a loose knot on the sheet rope, and the assurance that his mom hadn't noticed his escape, Henry hit the ground with a soft thud. Brushing the dirt off his knees, Henry continued to sneak around until he grabbed his bike, guiding it down the street until he felt that he was safely out of view. That was when he got on the bike and headed to the library.

It was already dark, and Henry knew that he'd wasted enough time waiting for the right time to get away from his mom. That's why he pedaled a little faster, hoping to get to the library before Killian had a chance to close up.

His efforts were rewarded, as he caught Killian closing the doors of the library.

"Killian!" Henry called out, bringing his bike to a rough halt, stopping a few feet away from his tutor.

"Henry?" Killian asked as he stepped away from the door and closer to him. "I thought you'd be at home at this hour."

"Technically, I am." Henry said. At Killian's inquiring look he continued, "I...kind of snuck out of the house."

"Henry…" Killian admonished.

"It's really important. Someone's missing." Henry said, and that certainly got Killian's attention.

"What happened? Is it Emma?" Killian asked concernedly.

"No." After a pause, Henry asked, "Why did you think it was Emma?"

"Oh, I, um…" Killian stuttered before clearing his throat. "Henry, who is missing?"

"A guy from the hospital." Henry said as he finally dismounted, bringing his bike along with him. "Everyone calls him John Doe, but he's actually Prince Charming. Mary Margaret said he touched her hand when she was reading to him, and now he's missing, and we need to find him before something bad happens."

Killian tried to sound comforting. "I'm sure the sheriff is already handling it."

"That's not the point." Henry insisted. "Prince Charming might be remembering things, and if my mom gets to him-"

"Henry." Killian placed his hands on Henry's shoulders, stopping what Henry realized was his voice becoming desperate.

"I have to find him." Henry told him softly. "If Prince Charming remembers, then there'll be someone who actually believes me, who proves that I'm not crazy."

Killian seemed to be thinking over what he was going to say next. "I know you really believe in this, _and_ ," Killian emphasized the word when Henry began to squirm, some anger rising up at not being believed _again_. "and, you've got to understand that...for people my age, we've learned to not just trust in something we haven't seen for ourselves. Usually we've been tricked so many times that we've become skeptical to protect ourselves. That's why the best way to get an adult to believe you is to have proof. It's not because we assume people are liars, we just...need something solid to hang onto before we push forward."

Henry mulled over Killian's words, and sighed knowing he was right. He needed proof...and he was about to get some.

"You're right." Henry said as Killian's hands left his shoulders. That's when Henry took the opportunity to get on his bike again. "I'm going to find John Doe, and if he remembers he's Prince Charming, then I'll get some proof."

Henry began to pedal away, and he felt a little better when he heard Killian follow after him.

* * *

Things were not going well for the search. It was nearly nightfall, and Emma knew that soon she, Mary Margaret, and Graham would have to resort to using their flashlights. If muscle atrophy didn't get to John Doe first, then hypothermia would.

"I think I've picked up the trail again." Graham told them, and soon the three of them were off again.

Soon enough, they were joined by new people.

 _Henry is a bloodhound_ , Emma thought as she looked at the boy run into view, followed closely behind by a very familiar librarian.

"Henry?" Mary Margaret asked in surprise the same time Emma, in the same tone, asked, "Killian?"

"Did you find him yet?" Henry said as he stood before them.

"No, not yet." Emma told him as she stepped closer to him. "You shouldn't be here."

"I can help." Henry insisted. "I know where he's going."

"And where's that?" Mary Margaret asked.

Henry looked to Mary Margaret. "He's looking for you." As the group began moving again, he walked next to Mary Margaret, insisting that she's the one who woke him up.

"So what're you doing here?" Emma asked Killian, lowering her voice so that she could listen in on Henry's conversation with Mary Margaret.

"The young lad came to the library looking for help." Killian shrugged. "I couldn't just let him ride off into the woods, especially with how hastily he abandoned his bike a while back."

Emma felt a rush of warmth at his words, a locked away part of her touched by this man's genuine concern for Henry's welfare. "Thanks, for looking out for him." Emma said.

Killian simply said, "It was no trouble at all. So...did he tell you who he thinks John Doe is?"

Emma sighed. "Oh yeah, and Henry is under the belief that Mary Margaret and John Doe- sorry, _Prince Charming_ and _Snow White_ need to be together."

"Because they do." Henry's voice startled both Emma and Killian, and she felt a bit embarrassed that Henry got the drop on them.

Emma soon recovered. "Kid, you need to go home. Preferably before your mom comes back, realizes you're home, and then decides to kill me."

"I made sure she didn't see me." Henry said in what was probably meant to be a reassuring tone. "Actually, I don't think she was even home."

"Then we might have a head start on getting you home." Emma said, reaching forward to grab his shoulder before he jumped out of her reach.

"No." Henry protested. "Prince Charming is still out, and you'll waste time taking me home."

"Guys!" Graham shouted, bringing all conversation to a halt. Graham walked towards them, and Emma was dismayed on what she saw on John Doe's hospital bracelet.

"Is that…" Mary Margaret trailed off, the worry in her voice tinged with horror.

"Blood." Emma said with finality.

That's when Killian spoke up. "It seems that Henry's right. We don't have time to waste. We need to find this John Doe." He then looked at Emma. "Besides, if Regina wants someone to blame for the young lad not being at home, you could always put my head on the chopping block."

Emma didn't really know what to say to that, and Graham once again stepped in before she could. He told them to get their flashlights out, though only he, Emma, and Mary Margaret had ones.

They all kept searching, calling out for the man, though they could only call them "John" or "John Doe," though every once in awhile Henry shouted "Prince Charming!"

They eventually came upon a stream that was overlooked by a bridge, and Emma was beginning to worry that they might come across a dead body rather than a sick man.

Thankfully, they made real progress, marked by Mary Margaret's repeated shouts of, "Oh my god!" The schoolteacher ran in one direction, throwing aside her flashlight as Emma quickly realized what she was running towards.

John Doe, lying on his side with his back to them, not moving even as the steady stream of water must have been freezing.

Graham was speaking to someone on his radio. "I need an ambulance! At the old Toll Bridge, as soon as possible. " He ordered as they all moved towards John Doe, though Emma was surprised to find that Killian was a fast runner, and that he got to John Doe at the same time as Mary Margaret, who had gotten a head start. "

Mary Margaret and Killian pulled John Doe out of the water and onto the shore.

"Is he alive?" Henry asked worriedly, and Emma kept him back from going further. She didn't want to traumatize him if 'Prince Charming' was dead.

Killian checked the man's pulse, and said, "He's alive, but the pulse is faint."

Mary Margaret was immediately dismayed. "No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no! I found you!"

"Help's coming." Graham told her.

"Is he...going to be okay?" Henry asked, his voice now softer and Emma knew that he was scared.

Emma turned Henry away from the scene. "Henry, don't look." Emma forced herself to give a strained smile, trying to reassure him, trying to keep him calm. "Okay? Don't look."

Emma looked over Henry's shoulder to where Killian was directing Mary Margaret to give CPR.

Killian tried to maneuver his right hand with his left one, flesh with prosthetic, "I'm going to try to-"

Whatever else Killian was going to say, it didn't matter. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma thought she saw Mary Margaret lean down to being the mouth-to-mouth part of CPR. It must have worked, and very well at that, because John Doe immediately began to start breathing again, coughing up water that must've gotten into his lungs.

Henry forcibly turned around, and although Emma couldn't see his face, she knew from the way his entire body relaxed that he was relieved.

"You saved me." John Doe croaked, his voice likely raw from the lack of use and the water.

As Emma put her arms around Henry, the boy said, "She did it. _She did it._ She woke him up."

The kid was so damn happy, all Emma could say back was "Yeah, kid. She did."

As Mary Margaret began speaking soothingly to the man, Killian took off the jacket he was wearing to cover up John Doe.

Emma thought warmly, _Small miracles, I guess_.

* * *

Once Dr. Whale called her with the news that John Doe had walked out of the hospital, Regina thought about killing the man. However, she knew that getting away with murder, especially a poorly thought out one, would be harder to do in this world than it did in her old one. So, she settled for 'suddenly remembering' her dear friend, Kathryn Nolan, and oh dear, Kathryn, didn't you have a husband that went missing awhile ago? Could he be our mysterious John Doe?

Thankfully, her curse made everyone so gullible. That is except…

"You didn't go look for him?" Emma asked with an annoying lack of complacency in just taking the story as is.

"I assumed he'd left town all this time." Kathryn said. "And now I know why I never heard from him. Now I get to do what I've wanted to do forever – say I'm sorry. Now we get a second chance."

If Regina didn't know any better, she might have actually felt sympathy for the woman.

...Well, no, she probably wouldn't have, but from the looks of things, Mary Margaret certainly did.

"That's wonderful." The insipid schoolteacher said softly.

"Hold on." Hook suddenly said, reminding Regina of his presence. "I was informed that no one, including you knew who the man was."

"I just said that I didn't, didn't I?" Regina countered. "Unfortunately I was never close to David before his disappearance, so I never made the connection."

Hook didn't look convinced, and damn him because Emma seemed more determined now that someone else shared her suspicions.

Thankfully, Dr. Whale appeared to inform them of this little 'miracle'.

"He's okay?" Kathryn asked hopefully.

"Ah, physically, he's on the mend. Um, his memory is another issue. It may take time, if at all." The doctor said regretfully.

Regina hoped for the 'not at all' scenario the doctor implied.

"What brought him back?" Mary Margaret asked curiously.

"That's the thing." Dr. Whale shrugged. "There's no explanation. Something just clicked in him."

"He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" Emma asked skeptically.

Dr. Whale simply replied, "He woke up and he was delirious and his first instinct was to go find something, I guess."

"Someone." Her son piped up from his seat, and Regina mentally tried to weigh the costs and benefits of installing an outside lock on his room.

"Can I see him?" Kathryn asked like the good worried little wife she was.

Dr. Whale agreed, and led her to go into David's room.

Regina had had enough of this little play, and said, "Henry, let's go." She turned around, expecting her son to be good and follow her.

"Wait, my backpack." Her son said, and he went to collect a backpack before going to Mary Margaret, whispering something to her that Regina could quite hear. The two of them carried on a little conversation until Regina decided to put an end to it.

"Henry." Regina said warningly, and at last her son obeyed. The two of them were walking down the hall to exit the hospital when she heard Emma call her name. She told Henry, "Wait by the car." Her son hesitated only a moment before doing what she said, and at that Regina turned to face the woman.

"Miss Swan, I let you off the hook back there." Regina warned. "Don't press it."

"I'm sorry, but Mrs. Nolan?" Emma questioned, and Regina's irritation with the woman burned anew. "Kind of feels like her story could be a load of crap. All this time, there's a John Doe lying around in a coma and nobody puts it in the news, nobody goes looking. Something's not right here."

"Well, what else would make sense to you?" Regina questioned, trying to put Emma on the defensive. "Why would Miss Nolan lie? Do you think I cast a spell on her?"

Unfortunately, this woman would not be cowed so easily. "I think it's rather strange you've been his emergency contact all these years and you only found her now."

 _I think it's strange that your little car accident didn't break your neck_ , Regina thought, though she managed to keep it to herself. But hey, she could dream. "Well, this town is bigger than you know. It's entirely possible to get lost here. It's entirely possible for bad things to happen."

Hopefully the next victim would be a particular irritating blonde woman trying to steal her son away.

"And just when it's convenient you manage to solve the mystery?" Emma pushed on.

"Thanks to you." Regina told her, and she seized on Emma's temporary confusion. "That tape you found was a stroke of genius. So, we went back and looked at past tapes. Turns out Mr. Doe's been talking in his sleep. He's been calling out for a Kathryn. After that, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together." And honestly, it wouldn't be hard to 'misplace' those tapes if Emma tried to find them.

Regina continued, "And here I thought you and Mary Margaret would be pleased. True love won out. So bask in the moment, dear. Were it not for you two, they would have lived their lives completely alone. That's why I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness." Emma opened her mouth again before Regina cut her off with, "I'm even willing to forgive Mr. Jones role in all this because he's such an excellent tutor."

At this, Emma thankfully shut her mouth, though she still stared intently at Regina.

Regina then gave Emma a simpering smile, "All this has reminded me of something oh-so very important. How grateful I am to have Henry. Because not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable."

Regina, satisfied by the little lines that formed on Emma's face, silently signaling that Regina had gotten to her, turned around. She wanted to tuck her son in, and spend the rest of the night in peace.

However...she knew she'd have to be more careful now. She was glad her curse had given her an excuse in the form of Kathryn _Nolan_ to keep Snow White and her husband apart. That, at least, was a good sign that her curse was still intact. Still, this was too close a call. What might Regina have done had John Doe come back claiming he was Prince Charming? Of course, the asylum beneath the hospital was in working order, and Regina's little guest could use a friend, but that would just raise even more questions.

Frankly, Regina knew she could handle Emma Swan without trouble, but not Captain Hook was on the woman's side? Even though he was cursed like everyone else, there was still some level of defiance in the man that somehow carried over from his past life. He had done her a great service by finally bringing her mother's corpse to Regina, settling one last score before she enacted her curse, but her generosity and forgiveness had limits.

The curse, for all that it was helpful, was a tricky and sometimes unpredictable thing. When it came to controlling the people who had wronged her most, it did its job. After all, the proud Snow White was just a meek teacher, connecting with children that would never be her own, and now her True Love was married to his former betrothed, and no one except her (and her son) were the wiser.

Still, there were outliers. After all, Captain Hook as a librarian? That wasn't something Regina wouldn't have thought up.

The bigger problem was his connection to Emma. Any idiot could see that Hook held some affection towards the woman, and Regina knew that Emma, for all that she kept people at a distance, held some affection for him.

Neither of these things would have been of particular concern to her on their own. After all, Regina figured that Hook would eventually tire of her, or that Emma would eventually leave when things got too complicated. Whichever came first.

Her main concern was that Hook held a place in her son's heart. He was an excellent tutor, but more to the point, her son seemed genuinely fond on him, and the thought of the three of them being together, especially if Emma roped the man into playing family with _her_ son...

Regina had to do something about that. She just didn't know what.

Emma she could handle on her own, and Hook would be another matter to deal with.

Regina wished there was some way to temporarily reawaken the Dark One. A long time ago, when Regina asked her Magic Mirror about Hook, to see whether or not he would immediately betray her, the mirror told her that Hook and the Dark One maintained some sort of bitter rivalry, one the mirror claimed matched her hatred for Snow White.

Regina doubted that, but she did daydream about finding a way to temporarily reawaken Rumplestiltskin, just long enough so that he could end the rivalry once and for all.

If by some chance the two of them managed to kill each other off, that was fine with her.

* * *

This...had been a long ass day, which Emma could now round off by sleeping in her car another night.

She was glad John Doe- David Nolan, was alright, but something just didn't sit right with her. How come when David originally disappeared, no one at the hospital recognized him?

Maybe she could buy a handful of people not doing so, but _no one_? In a town of this size?

Regina's words came to mind. _It's entirely possible to get lost here._

Plus, it was awfully convenient that Regina brought his wife around just when he woke up, and claiming that she didn't know who he was in top of that.

Emma sighed. Despite her suspicions, there really was nothing she could do about it.

Unfortunately, more of Regina's words came to mind then. _Because not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable."_

Emma cursed herself, because she knew that on some level, her expression had betrayed her, giving Regina some sliver of proof that she'd gotten to her.

Well screw her. Emma could cope with being alone. She'd had a lot of practice.

Just then, she found herself passing the library. It was closed right now, and she found that she was actually disappointed. Although she knew why, she wouldn't allow her thoughts to name the reason why.

Reality had other plans.

"Swan?" Killian voice called, and Emma saw Killian sticking his head out of an open window above her head.

"Killian?" Emma asked curiously. "What're you doing there?"

"I live here." Killian stated simply as he rested his arms on the windowsill.

Emma tilted her head to the side, which strained her neck even more since she was already tilting it up to look at him. "In the library."

"No." Killian chuckled. "My apartment is connected to the library."

Emma made an "Ah" before she was reminded of some of the events of the day, namely what he did for Henry. "Hey Killian...thanks, for looking out for Henry."

Killian, once again, shrugged. "Well, like I said, I just wanted to make sure the lad was alright."

"Still...thanks." Emma finally settled on.

Killian then looked around. "It's getting quite late. You going to be alright?"

Emma just shrugged casually. "I always am." And then, without really thinking about it, she said, "Besides, I know where to find you."

Emma was glad that, in the event that Killian could see it, she could blame the night air for the sudden blush on her cheeks. Especially when her words drew out a wide and kind smile from the man.

"That you do." Killian said, the subtle toughness in his voice making Emma's heart beat faster. "See you around, Swan."

"See you around, Killian." Emma replied, and she waved at him, walking down the street. She was down the street before she took one last glance at the library, finding the window finally closing.

Like she thought the first night she was here, the town looked nice, even at night when Emma was usually the most on guard. The only thing that would've remotely convinced her to stay that first night was Henry. Now though...there was Henry, Mary Margaret, Killian…

Emma conversation with Mary Margaret from the day before came back to mind, and Emma wondered, _What's so bad about having a schoolteacher as a roommate?_

That's how Emma found herself at Mary Margaret's door. When the door opened, and Emma told Mary Margaret that she was going to take her up on her offer, Mary Margaret let her in with a nod and a warm smile.

Whatever Emma felt the first night she was in town, she felt much better about her decision to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so David is out of his coma, with no memory of who he is, and Emma decided to stay with Mary Margaret. It's nice to get to know your long lost mother without realizing it.
> 
> Also, Emma and Killian are now more suspicious about David's supposed backstory and Regina's connection in all of this. E
> 
> Rhea Sylvan/Aurora
> 
> Lea Wen/Mulan
> 
> Walter Necchi/Sleepy
> 
> Again, feel free to leave any comments or questions you have in the review box below, and I will do my best to answer them.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	5. A Deal's A Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Emma takes an unpleasant trip down memory lane, Ashley meets a lawyer, and Halloween is around the corner.
> 
> Oh yeah, and Gold is shady as fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to kathleen2102, FringeEmu, and bethacaciakay for leaving kudos, and thanks to kathleen2102, Lepidochelys_kempii, and bethacaciakay (again) for bookmarking this story.
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).
> 
> Enjoy!

_ October 30, 2011 _

The clock tower bell tolled above as Emma walked Henry to his bus stop. 

“Are you sure we can be seen out in the open?” Henry asked. “Not that I’m complaining but…”

“Enough sneaking around.” Emma told him firmly as they passed by stores with Halloween decorations up. “If your mom has a problem with me walking you to a school bus, I am more than happy to have that chat.”

Henry mulled this over for a moment before saying, “You're brave. You'll need that for Operation Cobra. Speaking of, do you think we need code names?”

“Isn’t ‘Cobra’ our code name?” Emma asked him.

“That’s the  _ mission _ .” Henry corrected. “I mean  _ us _ . I need something to call you when I’m around my mom, or someone that works for her.”

“Oh, um...well I don’t…” Emma tried, and failed, to come up with something clever that she could live with. “You can just call me ‘Emma’ for now.” 

Henry shrugged. “We’ll work on it. Oh yeah, Halloween’s tomorrow. What are you going to wear?”

“I don’t dress up for Halloween kid.” Spotting the disheartened look on his face, Emma forced her voice to sound happier. “What are you going as?”

Henry seemed to perk up a little. “I’m going to be a superhero.”

“Which one?” Emma asked.

“Guess.” Henry ordered cheekily.

Emma played along. “Um...Batman?” 

“Nope. Two more tries.” Henry said.

“Tries?” Emma asked jokingly. “I didn’t know I only had three tries. I demand another one.”

“Request denied.” Henry smirked before sending her an expectant look.

“Um…Superman?” Emma shrugged.

“Here’s a hint, stay out of DC.” Henry told her, and that’s when he spotted the school bus waiting for him. “Think on it. See you later Emma!” Henry then began running away, and he started laughing when Emma jokingly called out, “Come on! That’s no fair!”

Emma smiled as Henry sent her a final wave before boarding the bus, and Emma stayed in her bus until the school bus rounded the corner. 

Emma turned around to walk down the street, and that’s when a cop car pulled out in front of her, the siren blaring. Emma panicked for a moment, her mind flashing back to a dark alley in Portland, her hands up, realizing that Neal had sold her out-

“Emma?” Graham’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Emma, are you okay?”

It took Emma longer than she liked to collect herself, and she forced herself to exude a nonchalant facade. “Yeah, sorry, the sirens…” Emma waved her finger around to mimic the movement of the...the sirens-

“I’m sorry.” Graham said, sounding very guilty. “I just wanted to get your attention...but I guess I might have overdone it.”

Emma waved it away, and when she found words again, she said, “Alright, well you got it. Are you arresting me again?” 

Graham sighed, still looking a little guilty. “I’m thanking you for your help finding that coma patient. We all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Well, what do I get?” Emma tried to joke. “A commendation? Key to the city?”

“How about a job?” Graham offered. “I could use a deputy.”

Feeling herself getting closer to normalcy, Emma again tried to joke around. “From what I recall, there’s a 3-year-old up for that position.”

“He’s four, actually.” Graham smiled back a little shyly, seeing her offer for a more casual conversation and taking it. “Fernando’s going to need a few more years of training, plus a driver’s license.”

Emma crossed her arms. “Thank you, but I have a job.”

“As a bail bondsperson?” Graham guessed, putting his hands in his pockets. “There's not much of that going on here.”

“I don't see a lot of sheriffing going on around here either.” Emma countered.

“Well, here's your chance to see it up close. There's dental.” Graham tried to awkwardly sweeten the pot before saying, “Why don't you think about it and stay awhile?”

Emma saw his minutely raise his eyebrows, and she saw that he was oh-so-subtly putting on puppy eyes. Not that it worked...really. Just enough to get Emma to say, “I’ll think about it.”

“Great!” Graham suddenly said cheerily before he got back into his car. “Again, sorry about the scare. See you later!” 

And with that, Graham drove away, thankfully without sirens.

Emma felt her stomach rumble, and that’s when she remembered that she had forgotten to eat at Mary Margaret’s place. Mary Margaret let her sleep in, leaving a note that said that Emma seemed so tired that she didn’t have the heart to wake her up. 

Emma saw that Granny’s was nearby, and decided to go in for something to eat. 

Emma spotted carved pumpkins sitting outside the door of the diner, a taste of the Halloween display that was to come. Stepping into the diner, Emma saw paper bats hung overhead along with napkin ghosts. A plastic sticker of a witch’s outline on a broomstick was on one of the walls. The tables now have covers that looked more torn, but in a decorative sense; not in the way that anyone would figure that they just took old, torn white tablecloths and slapped it on the tables.

On the way in, Emma nearly bumped into a boy about Henry’s age, and she saw the top of his black hair as she moved to the side, though she was soon drawn to his downcast blue eyes. Most of all, she noticed how protectively he held onto some bread hastily wrapped in napkins to his chest. She watched him as he walked outside, and after looking around, she heard the boy mutter “Shit!” before running in the direction of the school bus. 

Emma winced in sympathy before allowing the door of the diner to close.

“Hey Emma!” A voice called out, and Emma saw that it was Ruby, waving at her from behind the counter. As Emma walked up to the counter, Ruby asked, “What’ll it be today?”

“Whatever’s reasonably cheap, and hot cocoa with cinnamon.” Emma told her before pointing to a solitary table near the door. “And I’ll be sitting over there.”

“You got it.” Ruby told her before disappearing into the kitchen. Eventually Ruby came back with the cocoa and a waffle, the latter of which Emma soon devoured. Ruby sent her a knowing smile before taking the empty plate away, leaving Emma with her cocoa and a newspaper to read. 

On the front page of the  _ Storybrooke Daily Mirror _ was a big picture of John-  _ David Nolan _ . God, Emma was still trying to wrap her head around that whole debacle. How did-

“How was your walk with Henry?” Regina said as she slid onto the seat across from Emma without an invitation. “That's right I know everything, but relax. I don’t mind.”

_ Like I give a rat’s ass _ , Emma thought sardonically. “You don’t?”

“No, because you no longer worry me Miss Swan.” Regina continued with a small smirk. “You see I did a little digging into who you are, and what I found out was quite soothing. It all comes down to the number seven.”

_ Oh this is going to be greeeaaaat.  _ “Seven?” Emma inquired, trying to think of whatever it is Regina was referencing, trying to prepare a counterpoint to it. 

Regina said, “It's the number of addresses you've had in the past decade. Your longest stint anywhere was two years. Really, what did you enjoy so much about Tallahassee?”

_ Absolutely nothing. _ “If you were wondering, I did find a place here in town.” Emma replied as she fiddled with the newspaper.

“I know, with Ms. Blanchard.” Regina stated in a tone that clearly displayed how unimpressed she was. “How long is your lease? Oh wait. You don't have one. You see my point? In order for something to grow Ms. Swan, it needs roots, and  _ you _ don't have any. People don't change they only fool themselves into believing they can.”

“You don’t know me.” Emma said, determined to keep up the facade that none of this was getting to her.  _ This is just Regina trying to get inside your head _ , Emma told herself. _ She wants you out of town and is trying to make you feel like there’s nothing keeping you here. _

“No, I think I do.” Regina continued. “No, I think I do. All I ask is, as you carry on your transient life, you think about Henry and what's best for him. Perhaps consider a clean break. It's going to happen anyway. Enjoy your cocoa.” Regina gave her one last triumphant smirk, satisfied in trying to tear her down, before she stood up and walked out of the diner.

Emma made to follow her, but all she ended up doing was spilling the cocoa over her shirt. The one small consolation was that her red leather jacket was untouched. Not so much her  _ white _ shirt and  _ white  _ undershirt. “Ugh, really?”

Ruby rushed over with a towel. “Eesh.” She said, her red lips parting to reveal her white teeth.

Grabbing the towel, Emma futilely tried to lessen the damage to her shirt, but she knew that if she didn’t get it clean soon, it would be all but useless. “Do you have a laundry room I can use?”

Thankfully, they did, and Emma thanked Ruby for leading her to it before the waitress went back to her customers.

Regina’s words played back in her head, filling Emma with more anger than she could barely contain. Emma threw her cocoa-stained clothes into the washer, putting detergent and bleach in the machine before slamming the door shut, turning on the dial of the machine with more anger than a lifeless machine probably deserved. 

Emma knew that Regina was just trying to get under her skin, but  _ damn _ if Regina didn’t somehow succeed. That didn’t mean that Emma was just going to take it. She’d spent a lifetime learning how to overcome people who’d expected her to lie down and roll over to any whim. 

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no!” Someone’s frantic denials clued Emma in on the presence of another person in the laundry room. Grabbing a nearby blue blouse, Emma pulled it on while simultaneously turning in the direction of that voice. There she found a young woman wearing a maid’s uniform, her blonde hair held together in a messy ponytail as her blue eyes stared in dismay at the sheets in her hands.

“You okay?” Emma asked as she began to button up the shirt.

“The sheets, they’re uh...pink.” The young woman - hell ‘woman’ might be a stretch, how old was this kid - said, her lips pursing together in a clear sign that she was barely holding it together.

“You try bleach?” Emma asked, prepared to reach over to the bleach she had just used...that is until the maid lowered the sheets with a sad huff, and that’s when Emma noticed the kid’s  _ very  _ pregnant stomach. “Oh.”

_ Nice one Emma. _

The maid set the sheets aside, leaning against one of the machines while her hands nervously rubbed her rounded stomach. “Last night I felt contractions, and the doctor said that the baby could come any day now.”

And given how young she looked, the fact that she looked so stressed out and was working as a maid instead of being in school, Emma didn’t think that things were going great for her right now. Still, Emma tried to alleviate the situation with “So...that’s great.”

The maid paused, seemingly weighing whether or not she should keep talking, but apparently the need to say something won out. “It’s just that, um, when the...when the baby comes…no one thinks I can do this. No one thinks I can do anything.” The maid then began to try to fold the pink sheets. “Maybe they're right.” 

Immediately, Emma crossed her arms, leaned against a machine and replied, “Screw them.”

The maid seemed shocked by Emma’s response. “What?” She asked, her hands slowing their folding.

“Screw them.” Emma repeated. “What’s your name?”

“Ashley.” The maid responded. 

“How old are you?” Emma asked.

“19.” Ashley replied.

“I was 18.” The lie was one Emma had thought over so often that it came out without her meaning to.

“When you...when you had a kid?” Ashley guessed, the sheets now resting on top of a machine.

“Yeah, I know what it’s like.” Emma told her as she maintained eye contact, willing Ashley to  _ listen to her _ . “Everyone loves to tell you what you can and can't do especially with a kid, but ultimately whatever you're considering doing...or giving up...the choice is yours.”

“It’s not exactly what you might think it is.” Ashley tried to dissuade her.

“It never is.” Emma told her. “People are going to tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say, ‘No, this is who I am’.” Handling other people’s expectations, trying to bend yourself to their wishes...that will just break you. “You want people to look at you differently? Make them. You want to change things you are going to have to go out there and change them yourself because there are no fairy godmothers in this world.”

Ashley waited, mulling over Emma’s words before asking, “What did you do? With the kid.”

Emma knew that there was a part of Ashley that was looking for some guidance, looking for someone to tell her, however unwittingly, what the right thing to do was. So, Emma said, “I gave him up for adoption. It wasn’t the right time for me to raise a kid.” Not that Emma thought she’d ever be good enough to raise a kid. “But that was me. You’re not me, and I’m not you. Whatever you do, it’s got to be your choice, you hear me?”

Ashley nodded before saying, “I can watch your clothes for you. I promise I won’t make them turn pink.”

Emma thought about turning her down, but she also knew that she was going to have to work out her new situation, which included new clothes, settling her place back in Boston, and, dammit a job too. 

Emma nodded. “Alright. I’ll be back in an hour or two. Good luck.” Emma grabbed her red leather jacket and headed off to get shit done.

Emma didn’t realize that when she grabbed her jacket, she did so with a small flourish, which allowed enough momentum for a business card to drop out of one of the pockets without her noticing. Ashley only noticed the card on the ground once Emma was out of earshot, and by the time she got to the diner, Emma was long gone.

* * *

 

Back at the laundry room, Ashley held up the business card so she could read it. “Raymond Fitzroy, Attorney at Law.” Ashley previously thought there were only two lawyers in town - Mr. Gold and Mr. Spencer. Ashley had been at a total loss for what to do. She wanted her baby, she did, but Mr. Gold held the contract she’d stupidly signed, and even she wasn’t dumb enough to trust Mr. Spencer. Besides, she didn’t have enough money to interest him in her case. 

She would know. She tried.

Ashley didn’t know if this Raymond Fitzroy would take up her case, but she was running out of options. Ser baby was due any day now, and Mr. Gold would probably be waiting at the hospital to collect.

* * *

 

Ashley felt bad about lying to Granny that she wasn’t feeling well, but she had to talk to this lawyer, and soon. Besides, it was later in the day, and hopefully she wouldn’t mind since Ashley chose a time when kids were getting out of school. She just hoped that she didn’t go into labor in the middle of negotiations. 

Once Ashley was let off for the day, she immediately asked Ruby for a ride to the lawyer’s place. Ruby had asked what it was about, but Ashley kept most of it to herself. She didn’t want to get her hopes up by telling someone else. If things didn’t work out, she could keep her latest failure to herself. 

Ruby dropped Ashley off at the address that was on the card, and after getting many reassurances that Ashley would safely find her way home, Ruby drove away. 

Ashley waited until Ruby’s car disappeared from sight before she entered a modest-sized apartment building, one that was more vertical than horizontal. She had thought that he would have his own office, but if could help her, Ashley didn’t care if his office was a shack in the woods. 

To her dismay, she found that the only elevator in the building was broken, and the lawyer lived on the third floor. It took her an embarrassing amount of time to climb those stairs by herself, and when she finally got to the lawyer’s door she was huffing. 

Hey, you try to walk up any stairs carrying something that weighs like a watermelon.

She knocked on the door, at last catching some of her breath, and when the door opened, stopped only by a chain on the door, she saw a young pre-teen black boy was the one who answered. He was still wearing his school uniform, so Ashley guessed he hadn’t had a chance to change yet. His brown eyes looked up at her with curiosity.

“Hello.” The boy said politely. 

“Hi.” Ashley said. “I’m looking for a Raymond Fitzroy. Is he here?”

“Mhmm.” The boy said before glancing back into the apartment, then looking back at Ashley. “Uh I’m just going to tell him that you’re here. You mind waiting for a second?”

“Of course not.” Ashley said, and the door closed for about half a minute before the chain rattled, the end of it softly tapping the inside of the door, signaling that it was unlocked. A second later, the door opened again, wider this time, and this time a man appeared before her. 

The man was taller than her by a few inches, and the suit he wore fit him pretty nicely. Usually Mr. Gold wore dark, almost black, suits while Albert Spencer, to the best of her recollection, usually wore grey suits. The man before her wore what looked to be a royal blue suit, complimented with a white linen shirt and a red, almost pink tie. 

One other thing Ashley noticed was that the man before her, and the boy from before, had similar noses, and vaguely similar cheekbones, though she wouldn’t bet any money on it. His skin tone was lighter than the boy’s was, so the kid didn’t get it from him. Was the boy the man’s son, or some relative? Or was Ashley just seeing things that weren’t there?

_ I wonder if my baby will look like me, or Thomas? _ Ashley thought, before telling that thought to go away and leave her alone.

“Hello, I’m Raymond.” The man greeted with a smile, and there was little gap between his front front teeth. He then stuck out a hand for her to shake. “What’s your name?”

“Ashley.” She replied as she shook his hand.

Once they released hands, Raymond said, “Come in, come in.” 

He stepped aside, allowing Ashley to walk in, where he led her to a room that looked like an office. He then pulled out a chair next to a desk and motioned for her to sit on it. He even offered her a glass of water, which Ashley accepted since  _ why would she not? _

As Ashley tried to slowly down the water, Raymond pressed a hand down the front of his suit to smooth it out. “Sorry about that. Had I known you were coming, I would’ve met you down on the third floor.”

“This was...kind of spontaneous.” Ashley admitted.

Raymond then sat in a chair at the desk, and sat up straight as he addressed her. “So, Ashley, what is it that you need?”

“I…” Ashley hesitated, the fear that he’d judge her for selling her baby rising up. “I...need help with a contract.”

“What kind of contract?” Raymond asked.

“I...I made a deal, with Mr. Gold.” Ashley confessed, and immediately she saw a look of realization come over Raymond’s face. Words began spilling out of her mouth, but she managed to reign in enough of them to avoid spilling everything. “When I got pregnant, I was scared. I thought things would work out fine at first, but then...I don’t really have anyone I can go to. I mean there’s Ruby, my friend, but she’s got her own problems to deal with.”

“What about the father?” Raymond inquired curiously.

Ashley paused for a moment before saying, “He’s not involved.” 

A look came over the man’s face, marked by the quick clenching of his jaws, causing the corner of his jaw bones stick out a bit, and his eyes narrowed slightly. However, he smoothed his features again so quickly that Ashley couldn’t be absolutely sure what it meant.

Raymond shifted in his seat, his back still straight, but his body language told her that he was now more interested than before. “What was the agreement?”

Ashley found herself rubbing her belly nervously. Ashley, unintentionally, began to speak in a pleading tone. “You have to understand...I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think that I could take care of a baby, and Mr. Gold...he said he would find a good place for my baby.” Ashley bit her lip, shame filling her as she finished off, “That’s what the contract is about.”

Raymond nodded. “He wants your baby in exchange for what?”

Ashley, too ashamed to admit that she’d traded her baby for money, tried to divert the conversation. “Whatever it was, I don’t want it anymore. I want my baby.” Seeing Raymond’s impassive face, Ashley leaned forward, “I have a job. I-I’m taking night classes, and I know I’m young but I can do this-”

“Ashley.” Raymond’s voice gently said. Ashley looked him in the eyes, and found that his eyes were now soft, welcoming... _ understanding _ . That, above everything, got to Ashley the most.

Stupid hormones, now she was about to cry. Thankfully, Raymond had some tissues in his office. 

“Just take a minute if you need one.” Raymond told her, patiently waiting for her to calm down. Once Ashley told him she was fine, Raymond continued, “I need to ask you a few questions. First off, how old were you when you signed that contract?”

“Um, I was 18 at the time.” Ashley said.

Raymond nodded.  “Do you have a copy of the contract?”

Ashley shook her head. “No, Mr. Gold has the only copy.”

Raymond made an “Mmm” sound before he said, “Well, I’m guessing that Mr. Gold wanted something substantial in exchange for the baby, so at least I’ll have some idea of what I’m dealing with when I got see him tomorrow.”

“What?” Ashley asked in surprise.

“Ashley, I can’t dispute a contract I haven’t seen before.” Raymond told her.

“But, this is  _ Mr. Gold _ we’re talking about.” Ashley replied, wondering how he could be so calm at the prospect of facing the man. No one gets out of a contract with him. “You think he’s just going to let you have the contract?”

Raymond simply said, “I’m not sure about physically giving me the original, but he’s going to have to at least give me a copy. Otherwise, we’ll have to set up a trial date to force the issue.”

“Force the issue?” Ashley couldn’t believe this man. Mr. Gold owned the entire town, which means he probably owned this building, which means that Raymond going up against him could result in some town ordinance popping up that would lead him and the boy on the street. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Ashley, I’m not going to pretend that I don’t know what going up against Gold means.” Raymond told her seriously. “He’s earned his reputation for making unscrupulous deals and ensuring that they’re kept, but…” He briefly looked away from her, his eyes becoming sad before turning back to her again. “I want to know something from you. Having a kid...it’s a massive responsibility. Your life as you knew it is over. You’ve got your job, you’ve got a place to live, but are you ready to transform you life around this baby, because that’s what it’s going to take to become a parent. It’s going to be hard, believe me, I know, but you have to be sure.”

Ashley, unable to help herself, asked, “Is the boy in the other room...is he your…?”

“My son?” Raymond asked. When Ashley nodded, he shook his head. “No. He’s my cousin’s son, but I raised him like my own. That’s why I know what you’re going through, at least part of it. That’s why, before I go to Mr. Gold’s tomorrow, I want to know how serious you are about this.”

Feeling emboldened, Ashley answered, “I am completely serious about this. Like I said, I have a job and a place to live, and I’m trying to get some sort of education. I’m not naive, not anymore. I know that raising a kid on my own will be hard, and I know that it might get overwhelming sometimes, but I  _ can _ do this. I have to be able to do this because...because I want to give everything I have to this baby, and I’ll do anything to make sure that happens.”

_ If I even have enough time, _ Ashley thought, the doctor’s words hanging over her like a sword. 

Raymond simply patted her shoulder. “And with that, I’ll take on your case.”

“Really?” Ashley asked, trying not to hope.

“Yes.” Raymond replied. “I’ll talk to Mr. Gold tomorrow, and we’ll get this sorted out.”

The reminder that he would go up against Mr. Gold hung in her stomach like lead. Even as he gently guided her out of the apartment, with the promise to meet with her after her shift tomorrow, even as he helped her down the flight of stairs, Ashley couldn’t let go of the feeling that something was going to go wrong.

What if Raymond lost? What would Ashley do if she was the reason that Mr. Gold, in retaliation, kicked him and the boy onto the street?

This scenario could end with her losing her baby, and being responsible for two good people losing their home. 

Ray offered to walk her home, but she declined, lying about a friend coming to pick her up. He was hesitant, and didn’t really seem comfortable with letting her go off on her own, but he eventually relented.

Good, because Ashley was going to do something potentially stupid and definitely illegal, and she didn’t think involving her lawyer would help matters.

* * *

 

Graham sometimes wondered why he went to Regina’s bed. In all honesty, he couldn’t really understand it. Every time he went, he just felt more and more...nothing. Nothing about it made him feel good, but by this point, it just felt like a compulsion he had to fulfill. 

Things had felt dull for a long time. Sometimes the food in his mouth would taste like ash, or things that he knew should’ve excited him just didn’t feel as great anymore. When he was in the woods, following John Doe’s trail...that had been the best he’d felt in seemed like  _ years _ . Things had felt so natural, and while he was glad that David Nolan was okay, he felt the urge to go out an hunt again.

As it was, the only thing Regina saw fit for him to do was patrol and visit her.

Graham sighed. He knew that Regina would want to him to come to her tomorrow night. He really hoped that she would allow Henry the chance to go trick-or-treating when she wanted him. He never felt comfortable when Henry was in the house when they did...what they did. 

In a way, things got marginally better and marginally worse when Emma showed up. He had to hand it to her. He didn’t know many people who were framed for theft that immediately destroyed the property of the person who framed them. She had gusto, but Graham knew that it would only be a matter of time before Regina decided that Henry wasn’t enough to restrain her. Regina would get even, and Graham wasn’t sure how much he could mitigate the damage. 

He had a feeling that things were only going to escalate between the two women and he worried that people, especially Henry, would get caught in the crossfire.

Henry was a good kid, and it didn’t take long for Graham to learn - from an irate Regina - about Henry’s belief that everyone in towns (sans Emma and Henry) was a fairytale character. Graham was a little worried by this. If he were Fernando’s age, Graham could chalk it up to an overactive imagination, but at Henry’s age…

Still, despite what Regina might think, Henry’s beliefs were no harm to anyone. Maybe not even himself, at least physically.

Graham was more worried about how this game of tug-of-war between Regina and Emma would eventually play out, and how much damage Henry would get in the long-

Graham let out a “Oomph!” at the same time someone else made a noise of surprise. Graham hadn’t even realized where he was going, and so didn’t realize who else was on the street until he collided with them.

At the same time, Graham suddenly... _ felt _ something. He felt...well he couldn’t really tell what he felt. It was like a combination of excited and some small bit of joy that he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

When he stepped back to apologize to whoever he’d bumped into, he felt his cheeks begin to flush when he saw that it was Nancy. 

She looked up at him with wide brown eyes and a pretty blush on her cheeks that had Graham’s heart actually stuttering.

“I’m sorry.” Nancy apologized, her hands waving themselves between them, like they weren’t sure whether or not to touch him, to see if she caused him some amount of damage.

He was shocked to find that he  _ wanted _ her to touch him.

“I-It’s alright.” Graham said, mentally berating himself for stuttering. _ Get it together, you daft man. _ He thought to himself. “I wasn’t watching where I was going anyways.”

“Still…” Nancy trailed off, her hands clasped together, and she waited a few moments before asking him, “So, how have you been? I haven’t really seen you around in a while.”

_ Probably because Regina didn’t want  _ you _ in the house when she called on me. _ Graham thought, but he kept that to himself. “I’ve just been really busy with volunteering at the animal shelter.” Graham lied.

Nancy nodded. “Oh yeah, how’s that going?”

“Oh, it’s going on pretty good.” Graham replied.  _ Please don’t ask anything too specific _ , Graham silently pleaded. 

Then Nancy said, “Hey, listen, Regina’s giving me Halloween off.” Then Nancy started blushing. “I’m going to take Fernando trick-or-treating, but I was wondering if, I don’t know I really didn’t think this through.” Now she was really blushing. “I don’t know did you just want to...do something at some time. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Graham’s mouth opened, surprised at her invitation. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d hung out with someone that wasn’t Regina, or Henry, or someone that he wasn’t currently arresting.

...He  _ really _ needed to get out more, but still… 

“I’m afraid I can’t. R- I need to volunteer at the animal shelter on Halloween night” Graham said. Then, because he couldn’t stand the disappointed look on her face, continued, “But maybe sometime afterwards?”

It warmed Graham when Nancy seemed for the idea. “Yeah, yes. We should talk more to see when our schedules are free.”

“Definitely.” Graham nodded.

Nancy then checked the watch on her wrist. “I better get going. Fernando’s with Alan right now, but he gets so busy with Granny’s and-”

“It’s fine.” Graham gently interrupted her. “I’ll see you around.”

Nancy gave him a smile. “Definitely.” Nancy then left, though Graham oh so carefully turned to the side, and he got to see that Nancy tried to take one last glance at him. The same way he tried to take one last glance at her.

Graham hoped that his next day off came very soon.

* * *

 

She sprayed him with mace. Ashley sprayed _ Mr. Gold  _ with  _ mace _ .

_ I’m so screwed, I’m so screwed, I’m so screwed _ , Ashley repeated in her head over and over again. 

Oh God, she didn’t think this through at all. Why didn’t she have an escape plan or something? 

Ashley just kept running, even though every step sent a dull pulse of pain in her feet and ankles, even as a dark corner of her mind told her all the running was going to cause the baby to come now. She didn’t stop running until she was bent over, heaving big breaths, and still she looked around to see if Mr. Gold chased her. 

He hadn’t, thankfully, but she knew that she’d only bought herself a little time before he recovered, before he came to collect.

She had to get to Granny’s, to get to Ruby and beg her for a car or a ride or  _ something _ -

“Um, hello?” The voice, however unsure and pleasant, still startled Ella, because she thought _ Oh God he found me! _

Thankfully though, it wasn’t Mr. Gold. It was a girl her age, one wearing jeans and a yellow sweater with a white button up shirt underneath it. The girl had black hair with curls that framed her lean face. “Are you okay?” The girl asked.

“I’m...I’m fine.” Ashley huffed out, trying to hide the contract by stuffing it in her pocket. 

“Are you sure?” The girl asked looking around. “Is someone after you?”

Ashley just said, “I just...I need...to get out of here.”

The girl suddenly seemed really unsure of what to do. “Um, where do you need to go? I’m on my way home from the library, so I usually go straight home, so if it’s not too far- not that I’m saying it’d be too much trouble-”

“I just need-” Ashley started to interrupt her, but then she noticed that she was in front of a familiar apartment. “Actually, can you help me in here? I need to see someone inside.”

The girl looked very relieved. “Oh, good. I mean, I live here so that’s exactly where I’m headed.” The girl and Ashley then walked closer to the apartment building. “Who are you visiting?”

“Raymond Fitzroy.” Ashley said.

“Oh, Ray?” The girl asked. “He lives on the third floor. Lucky guy. I’m stuck on the sixth floor.”

“Yikes.” Ashley winced in sympathy.

“I’m Dada, by the way.” The girl said as they entered the building and began to ascend the stairs.

“I’m Ashley.” She replied, and that was really all the conversation left between them, save for a goodnight once Dada deposited Ashley on the third floor, and Dada disappeared up the stairs on what she called her ‘long trek up the tower’. 

Ashley made her way to Raymond’s door, and she hoped that he wasn’t already asleep. 

Soon after she knocked on the door, Raymond answered, a little sleepy but otherwise aware, and surprised, by her presence. “Ashley, what are you doing here? Did something happen?”

Ashley asked, “Can I come inside please?”

Raymond nodded and allowed her inside before he once again asked what she was doing there. That’s when Ashley handed him the crumpled up contract, and it didn’t take long before Raymond sussed out what had happened.

“I screwed up.” Ashley whispered hoarsely. “I screwed up. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Ashley.” Raymond gently reprimanded, his expression one of exasperation.

“I know, I know.” Ashley told him, trying not to cry. “I didn’t know if you were going to win, and the doctor said that the baby could come any day now, and  _ no one _ gets out a deal with Mr. Gold and...I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I want to keep my baby.  _ Please _ help me. Please, I don’t want him to have my baby.” 

Ashley didn’t know what it was. She didn’t know what she had said or did. She didn’t even know how it really happened, but at some point she ended up in Raymond’s arms, crying as he rubbed her back, promising her that he would help her. Ashley barely knew this man, and he barely knew her, but she was feeling awfully alone and scared, so she wasn’t about to tell him to stop. 

* * *

 

_ October 31, 2011 _

Emma had to hand it to Mary Margaret. Making a hand-sewn costume to resemble the fairy godmother from _ Cinderella _ couldn’t be easy, but she managed to pull it off. The only big difference between the schoolteacher and the character was Mary Margaret’s stark black hair instead of the character’s pure white one.

Emma was unpacking her recently arrived belongings when Mary Margaret came over with a plate of food. Accepting the plate, Emma said, “Thanks. I'm so glad my stuff is here.”

“You could always add a costume to your things.” Mary Margaret oh-so-subtly implied.

“Mary Margaret…” Emma tilted her head at her roommate’s insistence that she wear a costume. 

“It wouldn’t be too much trouble.” Mary Margaret said as she went back to the kitchen to set up her own plate of own. “I’m sure there’s something around the apartment that you can wear. Besides, Henry’s been talking about going out trick-or-treating. Aren’t you curious to see what he’s going as?”

“I don’t need a costume to use my eyes.” Emma said.

Mary Margaret was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Mary Margaret went to the door, opened it, and although Emma couldn’t see who it was, she heard their voice and pieced it together. 

“Ms. Blanchard, is Miss Swan here?” Mr. Gold asked, and Emma briefly saw a faint look of amusement on his face as he beheld Mary Margaret in her costume. Emma noticed how the area around his eyes was an irritated red, and she wondered what happened to him. Once he saw Emma, who opened the door further, he held out his hand for her to shake, which she accepted. “Hi, my name is Mr. Gold. We met briefly on your arrival.”

“I remember.” Emma told him, remembering the way something crept under her skin when she first heard his voice.

“Good, I have a proposition for you, Miss Swan.” Mr. Gold said, remaining at the door when it was clear that neither of the women were ready to let him inside. “I need your help. I'm looking for someone.”

_ So why not go to Graham? _ , Emma wondered. “Really?”

Mary Margaret, the traitor, managed to excuse herself by pretending to need to take a bath.

That’s when Mr. Gold presented her with a picture, which reminded Emma of something she would take when tracking someone who jumped bail. Emma felt a twist in her gut when she realized that the subject of the photo was Ashley. “Her name is Ashley Boyd, and she's taken something quite valuable of mine.” Mr. Gold invited himself into the loft. 

Emma finally voiced her concerns as she closed the door. “So why don't you just call the police?”

Mr. Gold took on the veneer of a concerned man, and maybe someone else could be fooled, but something didn’t sit right with Emma. “Because...she's a confused young woman. She's pregnant, alone, and scared. I don't want to ruin this young girl's life, but I just want my property returned.”

“And what is it?” Emma asked, wondering what Ashley could have possibly taken for Mr. Gold to want this much discretion.

Mr. Gold didn’t feel like answering her directly. “Well, one of the advantages of you not being the police is discretion. Let's just say it's a precious object and leave it at that.”

_ That bad, huh? _ Emma thought. Emma would take on the case, but only because she hoped to get to Ashley before Mr. Gold did. “When did you see her last?”

“Last night.” He then gestured to his eyes. “That’s how I got this. Really, I was surprised at how prepared she was in spite of her ramblings about changing her life. I have no idea what’s gotten into her.” Mr. Gold then took on an insistent tone. “Miss Swan, please just help me find her. My only other choice is the police, and I don't think anyone wants to see that baby born in jail, now do they?”

What the hell was up with this place and Emma being reminded of things she didn’t want to think about?

“No, of course not.” Emma answered.

“So you’ll help me then?” Mr. Gold asked, clearly satisfied with how things turned out.

“I will help _ her _ .” Emma corrected. Soon afterwards, Mr. Gold left, and Mary Margaret reappeared. “So, how much of that did you hear?”

“Enough.” Mary Margaret told her as she stepped forward, only continuing to speak once Emma shut and locked the door. “Are you really going to find her?”

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Emma replied. “Besides, better me than someone else Gold decides to send.”

“That is true.” Mary Margaret agreed before looking at the clock. “Oh, no, I better get going. Just...be careful with Mr. Gold, alright?”

Once Emma agreed, the two of them hurried to finish their food. Once that was finished, both of them went out the door and went on their separate ways.

Emma knew that the first place she should go is Ashley’s workplace, and it didn’t take her long to get to Granny’s. Emma spotted a tow truck on the street, slowing putting down a car as Ruby watched on.

“Ruby!” Emma called out as she parked her car, stepping out and running up to the waitress.

“What’s up?” Ruby asked, keeping her eyes on the car. Actually, it looked like she was keeping an eye on the mechanic lowering the car.

“I need to find Ashley.” Emma told her, and that certainly caught Ruby’s interest.

“Why? What happened?” Ruby asked worriedly.

“She might be in some trouble.” Emma said. “I need to know where she is. Do you have any idea where she might go?” When Ruby shook her head, Emma prompted, “Any family? A boyfriend?”

At this, Ruby scoffed. 

Emma nodded slowly. “I’m guessing there’s a story there.”

“Not much of one.” Ruby replied derisively. “He left her in the lurch right after they found out they were expecting. Hasn't spoken to her since. He’s a-” The tow truck dropped the car, and she stepped towards it. “Hey, hey, hey Billy, be careful. You almost shattered my wolf thing, Billy. It's good luck.”

After the mechanic apologized, clearly not wanting to upset Ruby, Emma continued, “Uh, Ruby, what about her family?”

“Again, not much to tell there.” Ruby told Emma. “She’s got a stepmom and a stepsister that live as far away from her in town as they can get. She used to have two stepsisters, but one of them ran off a long time ago.”

“You’d think she’d try to make contact with that stepsister?” Emma asked.

“I doubt it.” Ruby scoffed. “They weren’t exactly the Brady Bunch. Look...I don't know what you've heard, but it's wrong. Everyone thinks she's not ready to have this kid, but she's trying, taking night classes, trying to better herself, trying to get her life together. Can you understand that?”

Seriously, this town had an uncanny ability to get right at her weak points. “I think so.” Emma assented. 

Ruby bit her lip. “Then maybe you should just stay out of it. She's been through enough already.”

“I've been through it, too, Ruby, and I can help her.” Emma replied.

Ruby still seemed hesitant, but then stated, “Try her ex. His name is Sean Herman.”

“Where can I find him?” Emma asked.

“He lives with his dad. _ Judge _ Herman.” Ruby said. Once Emma got the address down, she was preparing to leave, but she was in such a haste to get to her car that she didn't’ realize that she was about to collide with someone.

Someone grunted along with the sound of something hitting the ground, and arms steadied Emma from tripping further. The voice sounded very familiar. 

“Sorry.” Emma apologized to Killian, crouching down to pick up the book that had fallen on the ground. Emma glanced at the cover, which showed a weird-looking submarine traveling underwater, and bold white letters read, ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’. “Here you go.” Emma handed the book to Killian. 

“And where might you be off to in such a hurry, if I may ask?” Killian inquired as he accepted the book. 

“Uh, just trying to find someone.” Emma replied.

“Who might that be?” Killian asked curiously.

“...Ashley Boyd.” Emma said, producing the picture Gold gave her. “You see her around?”

“Can’t say I have.” Killian told her as he inspected the picture before handing it back to her. “What’s happened? Could she be hurt?”

“If I don’t find her, she might be.” At Killian’s curious and surprised look, Emma amended, “Mr. Gold wants to find her.” 

That certainly pulled a reaction out of Killian. “And what does he want with her?”

“He claims that Ashley stole something from him, but he won’t say what it is.” Emma said.

“Knowing him, it likely has to do with one of his deals.” Killian surmised, a dark look coming over his face.

Emma wondered what that was about. “Deals?”

“It’s how Gold got everything he had.” Killian replied. “He makes deals with people, carefully wording things so that they don’t realize how much they’ve really promised until it’s too late. And if they try to back out of it, Gold finds a way to get back at them.”

“You seem to know a lot about how he works.” Emma guessed.

“The man’s a snake.” Killian told her. “It’s not hard to figure out how he works. Besides, he and I try not to cross paths, and when we do it’s rarely pleasant. Don’t ask me why though. I can’t remember why it’s like this.”

Emma knew there was a bigger story to this, but she couldn’t detect any deception from Killian. Still, for all that everyone kept saying that he went after people that went back on his deals, didn’t seem the type to hold a grudge for nothing. Did Killian make a deal with Gold and forget about it? Was it really just natural animosity between them that neither could explain?

“You mind if I join you?” Killian asked.

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Emma said.

“Why not?” Killian shrugged. “You’d have two pairs of eyes on the case, and another set of feet to run down potential leads. Besides, I’d rather not leave that girl to Gold’s devices.”

_ My thoughts exactly _ , Emma thought. She sighed, and said, “Alright, get in the car.”

Killian followed her into the car, and as he buckled in he asked, “Where are we heading?”

“Her boyfriend’s place.” Emma answered, turning on the engine and pulling out onto the road. “It’s a good a place to start as any. Let’s just hope that Ashley tried to make contact.”

It’s what she’d tried to do when she was pregnant. Young girls with kids on the way got desperate to contact the fathers, to share the load with the other person who got them into that situation. 

Emma parked the car near the address Ruby gave her, and she and Killian got out to walk up to the nice house Ashley’s boyfriend lived in. To her surprise, someone in a blue suit was already there, and apparently in a heated discussion with an older man who’s at the door.

“Hey.” Emma called their attention to her, interrupting their argument as she and Killian walked up the steps until they were at the door. The man in the blue suit looked at her curiously, while the older man in the house, with his greying curly hair and pale blue eyes, looking at the newcomers apprehensively. “Is this where Sean Herman is?”

“Who wants to know?” The man asked, addressing them tensely. 

“I’m looking for Ashley Boyd.” Emma told the man, and by the judgemental expression on his face and the way Ruby talk about the man, this was probably Sean’s father.

“She’s getting into more trouble than usual then?” Judge Herman then nodded his head in the guy’s direction. “He’s also been trying to find Sean, claiming that Ashley wants to talk.”

“Your Honor-” The man started, but the judge didn’t let him finish.

“You are on thin ice, Fitzroy.” The judge reprimanded him. “I suggest you stay out of my family’s personal affairs if you don’t want it to crack any further.”

Killian then told Emma, “By the time of day, Sean’s probably at school.”

Judge Herman didn’t look happy at Killian’s (correct) guess. “My son doesn't have anything to do with that girl anymore, so whatever trouble she's in, I am sorry for, but there's nothing we can do to help you.”

Something immediately clicked in Emma’s head. “You're the reason he broke up with her.”

“Absolutely.” Judge Herman told her resolutely. “I'm not gonna let my son throw away his entire life over a mistake.” 

“Well she didn’t make that baby on her own.” Killian piped up, and Emma didn’t miss the approving look from Fitzroy.” 

“What could they possibly do?” Judge Herman asked exasperatedly. “Are they going to raise the child in the backseat of a car on a maid’s salary?”

“Some people only have the backseat of a car.” Emma said defensively. 

“Well, they're to be pitied.” Judge Herman fired back. “I'm not letting that happen to my son. And why don’t you ask him where she is? He seems to know.” The ‘him’ in this case being Fitzroy.

“You know where she is?” Emma asked Fitzroy, and the man didn’t deny it.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me-” The judge tried to go back into the house, but Fitzroy wouldn’t let him.

“Sean can contest the contract!” Fitzroy called out, causing the judge to go rigid before turning on the man.

Emma had to hand it to Fitzroy. The judge was giving him a pretty solid glare. 

“And what makes you think he can?” Judge Herman asked, his tone perilously close to reflecting his glare.

“He’s the birth father.” Fitzroy suggested, and Emma saw that she wasn’t the only one interested in this development. “The contract could technically fall under custodial interference on the part of Mr. Gold. Unless there’s proof that Sean also signed the contract-”

“You listen here.” The judge’s voice lowered dangerously. He was looking at Fitzroy but he was clearly addressing Emma and Killian too. “Look, despite what you might think, I don’t hate Ashley. I don’t even dislike her. I just don’t think she’s responsible enough to raise a child. I went to a lot of trouble to get her that deal.”

“What’s the deal about?” Killian asked. 

“Ashley agreed to give up the child.” Judge Herman informed them. “And she's being paid very well to do so.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “She sold the baby?” 

“Oh, you make it sound so crass.” Judge Herman scoffed. “Mr. Gold is well off enough to provide for the child, and he isn’t some lovesick teenager who thinks they know how the world works.”

Fitzroy looked shocked for the first time since this began. “ _ Mr. Gold? _ ” He asked incredulously. “I thought he was just the broker.”

“What would Gold want with a baby?” Killian asked, seemingly as incredulous as Fitzroy. 

Judge Herman seemed confused as he looked at Emma and Killian. “Well, isn't that why you were hired, to bring him the baby?”

That pretty much ended all conversation, and soon the three of them ended up on the street. Emma learned that Fitzroy was actually Raymond Fitzroy, a lawyer in town that Ashley had gone to for help with the baby thing.

“Where’s Ashley now?” Emma asked, her tone making it clear that it wasn’t a request.

“Just so we’re clear, I will say nothing specific nor implicating about what was said between myself and my client.” Raymond stated firmly. “All I will say is that she came to me for help regarding this deal, and that she wants to back out of it.”

“We gathered that much already.” Killian said. “Though it’d be better that we find Ashley rather than Mr. Gold getting impatient and sending someone else.”

“And what exactly is reassuring me right now that you won’t give that baby to Mr. Gold?” Raymond said with what Emma realized was a hint of protectiveness. 

“You think we want that man to have custody of a baby?” Killian sounded almost offended.

“Killian.” Emma put a hand on his shoulder, and he calmed down. “I promise you, we’re not going to let Gold have that baby, but right now we need to talk to Ashley. Let me guess. She’s scared and confused, and probably thinking that running away is a very good idea right now.”

Raymond didn’t disagree. After some coaxing, he agreed to bring them to his apartment, _ to talk _ , he insisted on reminding them. 

Unfortunately, once they’d all gotten to the third floor of Raymond’s apartment building, all that greeted them in his apartment was empty space. 

Now where had she gone?

* * *

 

Henry could not be happier that his Captain America outfit was holding together. He’d never had a Halloween before, and was. So.  _ Excited. _

It was like he was seeing everything for the first time. Everyone else went on like this wasn’t their first time either, but his classmates still shared his enthusiasm for the holiday. Henry had so little time to put together a costume, what with finding his mom and trying to help break the curse, that he’d almost completely forgotten that, for the first time ever, he’d get to celebrate Halloween!

He’d taken one of his blue T-shirts, and sewn a white paper star onto it. He taken some blue pants and some boots he had, and painted the boots with White-Out stars. He’d managed to create a paper Captain America mask, and he had found a garbage pail lid so use as a shield, though he’d left that at home. There’d be plenty of time to show that off later.

As recess, he found the other kids showing off their costumes. He had unwittingly become focused on Paige, who was wearing a white rabbit costume, that he nearly bumped into someone.

“Ooh, careful.” The person warned. Henry saw that it was a boy who was older and taller than him, though not by much. He was wearing a knight costume where the ‘metal’ was actually plastic - ‘metal’ breastplate, ‘metal’ forearm and wrist covers, ‘metal’ knee and shin protectors, and a ‘metal’ helmet with a small red plume. “Oh cool. You’re Captain America?”

“I am.” Henry replied. “And you’re a knight.”

“Sure am.” The boy replied. “Where’s your shield?”

“At home.” Henry said. “Where’s your sword?”

“At home.” The boy shrugged before joking, “Stupid school, ruining fun.”

“Yeah.” Henry chuckled, and the boy followed suit.

“I’m LJ.” The boy held out his hand.

Henry shook it. “I’m Henry.” 

“The mayor’s kid, right?” LJ guessed.

Henry nodded. “Yeah. She’s one of my moms. My other mom is Emma Swan.”

“The lady who ran over the sign?” The boy asked. When Henry confirmed it, he nodded as his pursed lips made a smile. “Sweet.” He finally said. “But hey, my uncle’s a lawyer if she ever needs help.”

“Your uncle?” Henry questioned, a part of him trying to piece together who LJ might actually be. 

“Well, he’s actually my first cousin...once removed, but it’s just easier to call him my uncle.” LJ replied. “His name’s Raymond Fitzroy.”

_ Why does that name sound so familiar? _ Henry wondered. 

Just then, the school bell interrupted them, and everyone began filing back into the building.

“Seriously?” LJ groused. “Oh, are you going trick-or-treating tonight?”

“Definitely.” Henry grinned. _ Whether my mom knows about it or not _ .

“Maybe we’ll see each other then.” LJ said. “I mean, that is unless your parents don’t mind it.”

“She won’t mind.” Henry said, deliberately not thinking about which ‘she’ he was referring to.

“Awesome.” LJ said before heading inside. “See you later Henry!”

“See you!” Henry waved, and he was happy when LJ waved back. As Henry walked back to class, he thought,  _ This Halloween is getting better and better! _

* * *

 

It took some backtracking, but the group finally figured out what happened. Turns out that Ashley had sent them to Sean’s house not because she was giving them a lead, but because she was buying time for her car to get there so that Ashley could skip town. 

Thankfully, Killian soon realized, Emma was a dangerously fast driver, and had gotten all of them to the edge of town faster than he would’ve thought. 

Killian wasn’t sure why the concept of a woman making, and surviving, rough turns in a car that was older in him was so...enticing.

Regardless, all manner of tempting thought flew out the window once they came upon the sight of Ruby’s car in a ditch.

“Oh God, where is she?” Raymond asked worriedly.

“Aaah!” A pained female voice screamed.

“Found her.” Killian said, walking a few steps to find Ashley sat down, nearly hidden among the tall grass, clutching her legs and stomach.

“Ashley?” Emma asked as the three of them carefully descended into the ditch to check on Ashley.

“My baby.” Ashley groaned out, pausing for a minute while her face contorted in pain. Once the contraction had passed, she said, “It's coming.”

“Get her into the car.” Emma ordered, and both he and Raymond helped Ashley get up, despite her protests of “No, I don’t want to go back.”

“Ashley, you’d never make it to a Boston hospital in time.” Raymond told her as he guided Ashley into the backseat of Emma’s car, with Emma getting into the driver’s seat and Killian into the passenger’s. “This is our only option now.” 

Once again, Emma drove like a demon, and in the back Killian saw Raymond holding Ashley’s hands, directing her with curious calm on how to breathe.

“That’s it.” Raymond told her. “Just let the contraction flow.”

“It doesn’t feel like a-” Whatever smart remark Ashley was about to make was interrupted by a high-pitched groan, followed by Ashley eventually sucking in a deep breath as she slumped into the backseat. 

“Don't worry. The hospital isn't that far.” Emma said, keeping her eyes on the road. 

“Please, please, I can’t go back.” Ashley pleaded. “You don’t understand.”

“We do, actually.” Killian informed her. “Judge Herman told us what the contract was about.”

“Oh God.” Ashley said ashamedly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about that right now.” Raymond told her. “Just focus on your breathing.”

Ashley then cried, “He’s gonna take my baby.”

“I won't let that happen, but do you know what you're asking for?” Emma asked. “If you keep this child are you really ready?”

“Yes.” Ashley said with all the resolution of a protective mother unwilling to be separated from her young. 

“Are you sure? Because I wasn't.” Emma said, only taking her eyes off the road once to glance at Ashley through the rearview mirror.

“You weren’t?” Ashley asked. 

Killian didn’t think he imagined the quick flash of pain that came over Ray’s face, though the man was apparently quick to hide it. 

“Nope.” Emma answered, and Killian remained silent, knowing that Emma was starting to open up. “If you want to give this kid its best chance, it's gonna be with someone who's ready, so know what that means. Your whole life is gonna change, and once you decide that it's yours, this running away can't happen again. You have to grow up, and you can't ever leave. Understand?”

“Yes.” Ashley nodded seriously, briefly biting her lip through the pain. “I want my baby.”

“Good. Then let’s get you to the hospital.” Another contraction hit Ashley, and Killian saw Emma’s eyes widen with fear. “And quickly.”

Emma’s speed demon driving got them to the hospital in no time at all. Nurses eased Ashley onto a wheelchair, and they were about to wheel her away to the maternity ward when she said, “No, no, no, wait, wait wait. Raymond?” She called to the man who stepped forward, which was close enough for Ashley to grasp his hand. “Could you stay with me?”

Raymond looked a little surprised, but agreed nonetheless. Raymond first made a call to someone to pick up someone named ‘LJ’ from school.

Soon enough, Ashley and Ray disappeared into the maternity ward, leaving Killian and Emma in the lobby. 

Killian thought over what Emma said in the car, and not for the first time, Killian wondered what kind of woman Emma Swan was. It would certainly take a lot of guts to stand up to the mayor, at least judging by how everyone treated the woman with an unhealthy amount of fear. However, Emma’s words were not lost on Killian. He knew it must have taken an incredible amount of strength to make the decision to give up Henry, and to do so with the hopes that Henry would get something better out of life.

It also filled Killian with no small amount of sadness that Emma defined herself as someone who she didn’t believe could’ve given Henry his best chance.

Emma began to look at Killian strangely from her seat next to his. “What are you staring at?” She asked. 

Truthfully, he’d started staring at those green eyes of hers, but he wasn’t about to admit that. Instead, he went for the proper answer - the emotional answer that might cause her to become closed off again.

...Sometimes Killian worried about the way his mind worked. 

“It took a lot of courage to open up to them like that.” Killian said, and he saw the way Emma became skittish, preparing herself for what Killian believed was some sort of jab.

Killian decided to disabuse her of that notion. “I’m serious. It’s not easy exposing some secret part of yourself, however small, to strangers, but you did it. Better yet, you did it in order to help someone discover their own strength, and that, Swan, is simply good form.”

Emma’s lips quirked in a smile that she was trying to suppress, and she tried to cover it up when a shrug. “It was nothing, really.”

“Now that I don’t believe.” Killian, feeling a little brazen, nudged her shoulder with his, and was happy to see a small, closed smile appear on her face. “You did good here Swan. Just embrace it.”

Emma’s eyes softened - she really did have lovely eyes - before she rolled her shoulders to get the knots out, and let out a sigh. “Well, I remember this part well enough to know that we’re gonna be here for a while. Think this place has good coffee?”

Killian joked, “We can always dream.”

The laugh he got out of her was well worth drinking the disgusting coffee.

* * *

 

School ended, and Henry immediately went to find LJ, impatient to find this potential new friend, and too worried about the possibility that they might not see each other tonight.

Henry caught up to the older boy waiting by the sidewalk for someone. “LJ!” Henry called out.

LJ turned around, and then greeted, “Hey Henry.” 

“You waiting for your uncle?” Henry guessed.

LJ shook his head. “Something happened, and he’s at the hospital.” Probably seeing Henry’s worried look, he amended, “No, not him exactly. One of the people he’s helping is at the hospital, and he has to stay with them for some reason. The secretary at school wouldn't’ say much.”

“So who are you waiting for?” Henry probed.

Just then, a familiar voice asked, “Henry?”

Both boys turned to face the one who spoke, and Henry saw that it was Dada, looking a little sick. Still, her costume was pretty good. She had black and orange face paint to resemble a tiger, with a pink noise and a white mouth, and black lines acting as whiskers. She was wearing a long-sleeved orange shirt that had some well sewn black “stripes” on them and a faded orange belly. The pants were just black and she was wearing regular shoes, but hey on the whole it looked pretty good.

“Hi Dada.” Both boys said at the same time, and after a strange look was shared between them, LJ asked, “Are we going home?” 

“Mhmm.” Dada said. “Your uncle wants you to know that things are fine, but he just wanted me to get you home.”

“Maybe he could come to the library?” Henry suggested. 

“I don’t know…” Dada trailed off. 

“I wouldn’t mind.” LJ shrugged. “Besides, aren’t you headed to the library after school anyways.”

Turns out she was, and so the three of them walked to the library. 

Once there, Henry ran into the building, calling Killian’s name. However, it soon became clear that, despite the library being open, Killian wasn’t there.

“Where is he?” Henry asked Dada.

“I don’t know.” She replied. “Maybe he’s getting lunch?”

“Who knows?” Henry shrugged, a little disappointed that he couldn’t show off his costume to Killian. 

“I’m sure he’ll be back.” Dada said before spreading her arms out, moving around to motion to the library around them. “Besides, you have all of this to keep you occupied. Or, you know, you can get started on homework.”

Both boys gave her an unamused look, to which she quipped, “Hey, not my fault this Halloween is on a Monday.”

Dada went down one of the aisles of books to begin sorting through some things.

LJ turned to Henry. “So now what do we do?”

Despite their previous reaction to Dada’s suggestion, the two of them did end up doing their homework.

“So who do you think your uncle’s at the hospital with?” Henry asked LJ, who sat in the seat across the small table from him.

LJ shrugged, keeping his . “Not sure. I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about his clients.”

“Why not?” Henry asked curiously.

“Something about the law.” LJ replied. “Oh yeah, maybe you should call your mom to tell her where you are?”

Henry said, “She won’t mind.”

LJ gave him a look. “You sure? She might get mad if you don’t call her.”

“I’m sure.” Henry told him confidently. “Besides, she’s going to be busy tonight.”

“On Halloween?” LJ looked confused. “Isn’t she taking you trick-or-treating?”

Henry shook his head, leading LJ to let out an “Oh” sound. After a while, LJ offered, “If you want, I can ask my uncle if you can walk with us, so that you’re not alone.”

“I won’t be alone.” Henry said. “I think I can get my other mom to take me.”

LJ looked at Henry with a confused look, head tilted and one eye squinting in thought before he made another “Ohhh” sound, followed by “Right, the sign lady.”

“Emma.” Henry said flatly. “So how do you know Dada?”  

“She lives in my building.” LJ replied. “Listen, I don’t think that my uncle will have any problem with you or your mom going trick-or-treating with us...I think.”

Henry paused, contemplating the offer before asking, a touch more shyly, “Are you sure?”

LJ smiled. “Definitely.”

“You know…” Dada’s voice trailed off mischievously, and because neither of the boys noticed how close she had gotten, both of them gave a small shout of surprise. Dada had herself a laugh before continuing, “Killian planned on staying at the library to hand out candy, but I think I can convince him to take the night off.”

“You think he’d go for it?” Henry asked, anticipation building. 

“I can be persuasive.” Dada said ‘humbly’. “Besides, one of us has get out more often,” 

With that, Henry said that he would ask his mom if she’d be up for it. Henry just hoped that Emma didn’t have any other plans tonight. 

* * *

 

Hours later, Killian was still chatting with Emma. 

“That doesn’t seem very fair.” Emma told him slyly.

“It’s nothing to do with fairness.” Killian replied coyly. “Consider it...a welcoming gift.”

“I got here a week ago, it’s pretty late for that.” Emma smirked. “Besides, a few extra pieces of candy during trick-or-treating on Halloween isn’t much of a gift.”

“Come now, Swan.” Killian teased. “You can’t be serious in denying yourself and the lad extra candy.”

“Henry can get some more if he wants.” Emma told him. “I’m not even sure I’ll go out tonight.” 

Killian decided to give a dramatic gasp. “Staying in? On Halloween night?”

Emma shrugged. “It was never really my thing, you know? Plus, I don’t even have a costume.”

Killian suggested, “A paper crown could suffice.” 

Emma didn’t seem too enthused. “I don’t know…”

Killian smiled at her. “If you ask me, I think a crown would suit you.”

Emma gave him another look that said that she clearly didn’t believe him, but it was combined with a smile, so Killian figured he didn’t go too far. 

Finally, Raymond finally came back. 

_ Dammit Raymond _ , Killian thought before reluctantly turning his attention to the man.

“How’s she doing?” Emma asked as she and Killian stood up. 

“Mother and baby are both fine.” LJ’s uncle told them with a tired smile. “Ashley gave birth to a healthy baby girl.”

“What lovely news.” A man’s voice broke into the conversation. He tensed up even before he saw who it belonged to. Mr. Gold walked into the room without complete confidence. He had to know how much everyone was glaring at him, but he just didn’t seem to care.

Mr Gold just smiled blankly. “Excellent work, Miss Swan. Thank you for bringing me my merchandise.”

Killian had told Emma the truth when he said that he and Mr. Gold tried to avoid crossing paths, and this is why. The...man spoke so blithely about taking away a baby, as if what they had discovered Gold was trying to do was a mere errand. Like this child and the mother were just part of a larger transaction. 

Killian understood his disgust very well, but he was mildly surprised at how much black anger was creeping up inside him as well. That anger was only somewhat satisfied by seeing the red irritation around Gold’s eyes, knowing that something must have happened to cause that.

Although Gold spoke to Emma, Killian caught the singular glance that Gold sent his way. One that, in the span of a single second, spoke of nothing but contempt and hatred for Killian.

Not that he cared. He had about as much respect for Gold as a cat did with its shit. 

“A  _ baby _ is your merchandise?” Emma asked, her voice filled with thinly veiled disgust. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gold was unnervingly calm. “Well, because at the time you didn't need to know.” When he looked between Killian and Raymond, he added, “Besides, it seems that you gained more baggage than you started out with.”

Emma’s jaw clenched, but before she could speak, Killian stepped forward.

“Oh, baggage are we?” Killian smirked without amusement as he stepped closer to Gold.

Gold stared at him coolly. “Forgive me, but I don’t exactly have time to deal with you.”

Killian scoffed. “Oh yes, I’m sure it must take a great deal of your time trying to steal an infant from a young mother.”

“It’s not theft if the mother willingly signed along.” Gold countered. 

“And how much did she understand of your contract when you had her sign it?” Raymond asked, and when Killian took a look at his face, he saw the man staring coldly at Gold.

“I’m sorry.” Gold chuckled without humor. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ashley’s lawyer.” Raymond replied. 

“A lawyer?” Gold asked, and Killian got the feeling that Gold’s interest was only minutely peaked. “I didn’t think Storybrooke had another lawyer.”

“Well, we can’t all make our names by making deals with vulnerable young girls.” Raymond replied. 

Gold’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Regardless, the contract is legal and, more importantly,  _ binding _ .” 

“You’re not getting that kid.” Emma said, joining both Killian and Raymond as they stood in front of Gold. 

The older man didn’t look the least-bit fazed. “This front doesn’t negate the fact that Miss Boyd and I have an agreement, and my agreements are always honored. If not, I’m going to have to involve the police, what with how Miss Boyd broke into my shop and assaulted me.” He turned to look at Raymond. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t very much care to know, but I believe any law student would know that what Miss Boyd did count a significant crime. And that might not look good in a court if she pushes the issue.” He then turned to look at Emma. “That baby will end up in the system, and that would be a pity. You didn't enjoy your time in the system, did you Emma?”

Killian clenched his teeth in anger, his hand forming into a first when he saw the smallest change in Emma’s stance. He nearly missed it, but he knew that Gold had gotten to her. He was keeping his temper in check. Though in the back of his mind, he realized that he never knew that Emma had been a foster child, a potential orphan like himself, he was currently more occupied with trying not to punch Gold in the face.

“That’s not going to happen.” Emma told him resolutely. 

“I like your confidence.” Gold said with amusement. “Charming, but all I have to do is press charges.”

“You know, no jury in the world will put a woman in jail whose only reason for breaking and entering was to keep her child.” Emma stated cooly. She then directed her next statement to Raymond. “Raymond, how much you want to bet that contract doesn’t hold up?”

Raymond continued staring at Gold as he answered. “Not very much. After all, I’d have to look closely at that contract. Exchanging a human person as goods, if stated as such, might put the contract under dispute. And besides, there’s still the biological father to consider. If he didn’t sign off on it, well...that could open up a whole new set of complications.” 

Killian saw a small shift in Gold’s expression, and Killian knew it spoke of both Gold’s annoyance with Raymond, and the look of a predator that realized the prey won’t be so easy to capture. 

Finally, Gold said to Emma, “I like you, Miss Swan. Whether cocky or presumptuous, you’re not afraid of me…” He only glanced at Killian and Ray to make sure they knew he didn’t include them in his next statement, “...and I’d rather have you on my side.”

“So she can keep the baby?” Emma asked stoically.

“Not just yet.” Gold said. “There's still the matter of my agreement with Miss Boyd.”

“Tear it up.” Emma suggested tersely. 

“That's not what I do.” Gold told her. “You see contracts, deals...well they're the very foundation of all civilized existence, so I put it to you now. If you want Ashley to have that baby, are you willing to make a deal with me?”

“Absolutely not.” Killian spoke without thinking, too consumed with the idea that Emma making a deal with Gold with an absolutely terrible idea.

“You don’t speak for me.” Emma told Killian sharply.

“Emma-” Killian began to plead, but Emma paid him no mind.

“What do you want?” Emma asked.

“Emma, I strongly advise against this.” Raymond told her. From the looks of it, Raymond knew this was a terrible idea too. 

“Are you Miss Swan’s lawyer now?” Gold mocked Raymond before addressing Emma. “I don’t know just yet. You’ll owe me a favor.”

“Emma-” Killian started again, but once again, Emma paid him no mind.

“Deal.” Emma replied immediately.

A sick feeling filled the pit of his stomach, because Gold looked far, _ far _ too happy about this development. “Pleasure doing business with you Miss Swan.” Without sparing another second, Gold left the hospital.

The three adults stood there silently, not looking at each other as they kept watch of the door Gold exited through, almost as if each was waiting to see if he tried to come back. 

None of them really knew what to say. Part of Killian wanted to shout, to ask Emma why she would make such an arbitrary deal. The other  _ knew _ why she did it. Despite what she might think, Emma was an honorable woman, and she had taken the fall for a young girl she barely knew, because she likely felt better prepared to handle someone like Gold. 

That part of Killian wanted to kiss Emma too, but he didn’t think she’d take that well.

A nurse came into the room, breaking their revere with the news that Ashley was asking for them. Silently, the three of them followed the nurse into Ashley’s room.

There, the tired young woman was holding her newborn daughter. The infant was wrapped in a pink blanket, and Ashley was gently running her fingers along the top of her daughter’s bald head. Once she noticed them, she gave them a tired smile. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Emma said, smiling almost as tiredly at the sight of the mother and child. “What’s her name?” 

“Alexandra.” Ashley told them, unable to stop herself from looking at the infant. 

“That’s pretty.” Emma said as Raymond moved to the other side of Ashley’s bed,

“How’re you feeling?” Raymond asked her.

“Tired.” Ashley said with a temporary frown before giving them all a grateful look. “Thank you for getting me here.”

That’s when Emma said, “Mr. Gold was outside.” At Ashley’s frightened look, Emma added, “I took care of it. She's yours.”

The fearfully hopeful look on Ashley’s face made Killian swallow a lump in his throat. “She is?” The relieved smile that had only just begun to bloom before she realized something. “But...what did you do?”

“Made a deal with him.” Emma answered.

A litany of emotions came over Ashley’s face. Worry. Regret. Shame. Most of all, gratitude. “Thank you. I’m sorry for getting you all into this though.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Emma told her, which the two men concurred with. 

Ashley turned her head towards Raymond. “Um, Raymond, I’m sorry to ask, but would it be okay if I called you for legal help. After all this, I want to make sure I’m doing this right. I can get the money-”

Raymond raised a hand. “It’s fine. And...you can call me Ray. All of you.” He said to the group.

“I’m fine with Ray.” Killian said to the man, which Emma concurred with.

Ray then held out his hand, shaking both of theirs. “Despite the circumstances, it was still good to meet you both."

“Yeah, you too.” Emma said. 

Killian agreed with the sentiment. “Perhaps, we should leave mother and baby to rest. It’s been a trying day after all."

* * *

 

Unbeknownst to them, not long after that, Sean Herman came to the hospital. Apparently, he’d heard that Ashley was giving birth, and something in him finally told him to do what he’s wanted for months - to go back to Ashley. 

Ashley, for her part, was a little apprehensive. After all, they hadn’t spoke in so long that Ashley wondered if she’d ever hear from her former boyfriend again. Still, Ashley always had a way to tell if Sean was holding something back, and when he presented her with a pair of baby booties for their daughter along with a sincere apology, Ashley decided to give him a second chance.

After all, where would she and her daughter be if no one decided to give them one?

* * *

 

It turned out, Emma realized, that all of them were heading to the same place. Emma found Henry and LJ playing paper football in the library...or at least trying to. A series of discarded paper footballs littered the floor, with the boys nervously chuckling as they gathered them up, looking at Dada who stared at them with a look that clearly said, ‘Leave the floor messy at your peril’. 

That same look was shared by Killian as he made his presence known to the boys. “What have I said about keeping the library clean?” Killian asked as she stepped forward.

Henry and LJ looked a little guilty as Henry recited, “If you make a mess, clean it up.”

“Exactly.” Killian said sternly. “If you can’t keep your station tidy, then don’t do something that will cause this kind of mess.”

“Sorry.” Both boys mumbled as they ashamedly put their paper footballs in the recycling. 

That’s when Ray stepped forward to address LJ. “Did you finish your homework?” 

LJ nodded. “Mhmm. Henry finished his homework too. That’s why we started... you know…”

“Alright then.” Ray said, with a look that clearly stated he didn’t approve of the recent display. Only after LJ agreed, guilt on his face, did Ray step forward to gently tap the underside of LJ’s chin did Ray’d face change to a more teasing look. “So, are you ready to trick-or-treating?”

“Yes!” LJ smiled excitedly, glancing at the dark night outside, where a few trick-or-treaters were beginning to roam around. That’s when he and Henry shared a look, and LJ asked, “Um, Ray, do you mind if Henry comes with us?”

Ray seemed a little surprised by this development, but then he said, “Well I’d have to know what his mom would say, but I don’t see anything wrong with him joining us.” 

“She’s right there. I’ll ask her.” Henry said as he quickly went over to where Emma was standing. “Please say yes.” He whispered.

“You need to ask Regina, not me.” Emma whispered back. Why was she whispering?

“I’m not asking my mom...my other- adopted mom, I’m asking you.” Henry told her before adding, “Please? My mom doesn’t care if I go trick-or-treating tonight, and she might not even let me. Please?”

Emma didn’t know whether or not he was aware that he was using full on puppy-dog eyes, but damn if it wasn’t effective. Emma knew that if Regina found out what she did…

What exactly would Regina do that she hadn’t already done, or threatened to do? Besides, Emma suspected that if she said no, not only would Henry be heartbroken to not spend a Halloween with a kid that clearly wanted to be his friend, but he’d probably try running away, and who knows what’d happen then. 

And with that, Emma’s resolve faded away. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Henry whispered before clearing his throat, then asking in a louder voice. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Emma nodded before looking at Ray. “You’re sure you don’t mind.”

Ray shrugged. “Not at all.” 

“Awesome!” Henry nearly jumped as he went over to highfive LJ, who returned the highfive. “Oh yeah, I need to go home real quick to get my shield.”

That’s when LJ remembered something too. “Oh yeah, I left my sword back in our apartment.”

“Looks like we all have places we need to be first.” Ray said. “Where should we meet up?”

That’s when Dada spoke up. “You all can meet here. That way Killian and I can change shifts and he can go with you.”

“Killian can do what now?” Killian asked Dada with a raised eyebrow.

Dada didn’t the least bit ashamed. “What I said. I can take over handing out candy, and you can join them in trick-or-treating.” Dada then asked of Ray and Emma, “That is if it’s okay with you two.”

“By this point, we might as well.” Ray said, shrugging his shoulders in what Emma knew was slightly beleaguered acceptance. 

“I…” Killian trailed off, his eyes landing on Emma.

Emma just gave him a shrug and smirk of her own. “Why not?”

Killian paused for a few moments, then sighed. “Alright, alright. I see where this is going.” He quirked an eyebrow at the two boys, who sent each other triumphant looks. “Alright, you better get going. I need to suit up and get this place ready for candy-hungry children.” 

Emma, Henry, Ray, and LJ left the library, though not before Emma heard Killian tell Dada, “We’re going to need to talk about this little mutiny…”

Not long after, the groups went their separate ways with a promise to meet up again. Emma and Henry walked towards his house, and on the way Emma thought about what she was actually doing. She was taking her kid out trick-or-treating.  _ She _ was doing that. She couldn’t remember anyone doing that for her, at least when it didn’t involve all of the kids getting lost at some point, or Emma having to make her own way during the night. 

But here she was, doing something this domestic, this _ normal _ with Henry. Emma didn’t want to screw it up.

If nothing else proved that Emma was going to stick around, this was it. 

“I’ll be right back.” Henry said before he snuck into his own house.

While he was inside, Emma decided to make a call.

“Hello?” Graham’s voice greeted.

“Graham, it's Emma.” Emma said. She took a breath, committing herself to this next act. “I was thinking maybe some roots wouldn't be so bad. That deputy job still open?”

There was a slight pause before Graham said, “Absolutely.” Emma could almost see the smile on his face.

Emma nodded. “Then I'm in. Regina gonna be okay with this?”

“I don’t care, it’s my department.” Graham told her, and Emma couldn’t help but smile at the backbone of this man. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See ya.” Emma replied before hanging up. Just in time for Henry to come up to her, the lid of a garbage pail in hand that was painted to look like Captain America’s shield. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Henry said before looking at her up and down. “But you’re not.”

“Excuse me?” Emma questioned.

Henry then gave her a conspiratorial smile that slightly worried her. He then grabbed her hand in his and pulled her until they were walking down the street. “Come on, let’s go to your loft. If we’re going to celebrate our first Halloween, then you’re going to need a costume.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Alexandra is born, Ashley and Sean are semi-together again, and Emma and Henry will spend their first Halloween together….in the next chapter lol.
> 
> Henry’s also made a new friend, and about time too. Seriously, this kid needs friends his own age.
> 
> See you soon!


	6. This Is Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS HALLOWEEN! THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I’ve wanted to do this chapter for so long, and now we’ll get to see Henry go out with Emma for trick-or-treating, and he may make some more friends along the way.
> 
> Thanks to KK1986 and all of the guests for leaving kudos. 
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things below to Adam, Eddy, and ABC (and Disney). 
> 
> Enjoy!

_ October 31, 2011 _

The minute Mary Margaret learned of what transpired, and of Henry’s plan, Emma knew she didn’t stand a chance. 

“Alright, just about done.” Mary Margaret said slowly as and finished up the yellow paper crown for Emma to wear. She then placed it on Emma’s head, where the crown fit. “Perfect!”

“Uh, thanks.” Emma said as she adjusted the paper crown on her head. 

“Oh this is so exciting.” Mary Margaret breathed out as she and Emma stood up. “You’re first Halloween. Well not your first-first, but your first one in Storybrooke, and with Henry too.”

“Do you think this will work?” Henry asked, holding up a flowy skirt Mary Margaret pulled out earlier in a haste to put together a costume for Emma.

“Oh yes.” Mary Margaret said, taking the skirt from Henry before putting it in Emma’s hands. “Put that on while I figure out an underskirt.”

“Mary Margaret…” Emma trailed off. 

“Well we need the skirt to have a certain puff factor, don’t we?” Mary Margaret asked rhetorically. 

“Ooh, and we can’t forget the princess blouse.” Henry piped up. 

“Ooh you’re right.” Mary Margaret said before going to find one. Mary Margaret must have had something in mind, or else she really did have fairy magic, because she came back almost immediately with a nice looking blouse in hand. “Here you go.”

“Do you have a cape?” Henry asked. 

“Why would a princes have a cape?” Emma asked. 

“Why  _ wouldn’t _ a princess have a cape?” Henry countered. “You might also need a scepter. No wait, a sword’s better.” 

“I think the crown’s enough.” Emma told him. 

Henry sent her a look that showed that he clearly disagreed. 

_ Okay now they’re going overboard,  _ Emma thought. After turning down a few more suggestions - seriously Henry, where would they get a horse? - Emma’s costume was complete. 

Mary Margaret placed Emma in front of a mirror to look at herself. Emma was wearing a flowy dark blue skirt with a shorter skirt underneath it (to add the puff factor). She wore a long-sleeved dark blue blouse, and the crown still sat on top of her head, this time with Emma’s hair arranged in a side ponytail, where her blonde hair laid against the front of her left shoulder.

Oh, and her red leather jacket. Couldn’t forget that. 

“You look great.” Mary Margaret said. 

“Yeah like a princess.” Henry concurred, though with a significant look Emma’s way. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with the boots?” Mary Margaret asked. “Because if not-“

“Mary Margaret.” Emma warned with a...mostly joking tone. 

Mary Margaret raised her hand in surrender. “Alright I’m sorry.” That’s when someone knocked on the door. “Ah! Those would be trick-or-treaters.” Mary Margaret said as she grabbed a bowl of candy off the counter. 

“And that’s our cue to leave.” Emma told Henry. “You got your bag?”

“Yep!” Henry said hold up his candy bag. 

“You got your shield?” Emma asked. 

“Double yep!” Henry answered. 

“Alright, let’s get going then.” Emma said, and both of them said goodbye to Mary Margaret as they exited the loft, wading through the small group of trick-or-treaters that waited at the door. 

Emma drove them to the library, and once she parked she had to stop Henry before he ran off without her. The kid could barely contain his joy at everything around him, like he was seeing it all for the first time. 

Once they entered the library, the quickly found the people they were looking for. 

“Hi LJ!” Henry greeted as he went up to greet the other kid, who was standing next to Ray. 

Ray was dressed as Sherlock Holmes, tweed overcoat, deer hunter hat, pipe and all. 

“Your Highness.” Ray jokingly bowed to Emma. He then leaned towards her, nodding in a certain direction. “Take a look at your favorite librarian.” 

Emma was going to rebut that comment. However, her attention was drawn to Killian, who was busy handing out candy to (and taking sue library books from) children that came up to him. Killian was wearing a sort of uniform, the kind you might see from period pieces, with a fake cutlass strapped to his leather belt. His off white pants contrasted nicely with the dark brown leather boots he wore, and the jacket he wore completed the look of a man that looked like he belonged in the navy.

Clearly, he had been preparing for Halloween for a while. 

Dada, who apparently had been nearby, came into view, informing Killian of their presence before not-so-gently nudging him in their direction. Dada merely sent a smile Killian’s way as she took over his station. 

Killian managed to walk a few steps in their direction before his eyes settled on her. No, not settled. They were  _ transfixed _ . His eyes moved up and down her body, taking in both her and her costume, and Emma swallowed a tiny lump in her throat when he finally settled on her face. His expression softened, and the smile on his face seemed to appear on its own, like even he wasn’t fully aware that he was doing it. 

It also had the effect of making sure that Emma felt her heart beat against the inside of her chest. 

That’s when Emma’s peripheral vision clued her into his three sets of eyes were on her. On them. Turning her head, she found Ray and the boys staring at her. Ray clearly knew what was going on, and gave an approving nod with a teasing smile. LJ’s head was tilted, like he was still trying to suss things out. And Henry…Henry looked pretty happy at this recent development. 

Killian clearly noticed this too, and cleared his throat. “So, shall we get to it then?”

“Yeah let's go.” Emma said, already turning around to head out of the library. Henry was quick to join her side. 

_ All things considered,  _ Emma thought as Henry walked happily, chatting with a new friend as the two adult man chatted with her,  _ this could be a lot of fun. _

* * *

 

This. Was. Awesome! 

To Henry, the concept of getting candy for free from multiple people alone was amazing, but then there was the fun of putting on and showing off a costume. Storybrooke had never had a Halloween before, though no one else except his mom and him knew that, and so Henry only had the Internet to have an idea on what would happen. 

What made it better was that he had a kid to do it with. He and LJ would run up to different houses, and make off with their candy. Occasionally when a house had a lot of kids waiting in line, he and LJ would start playing, Henry using his shield to block LJ’s sword. 

Well...they didn’t always keep it to waiting in lines.

“Watch the road!” Emma warned as she pulled him from unwittingly walking off the street. 

Henry saw that Ray had done the same thing for LJ.

Henry tried to play it off. “No one’s driving by.” 

Emma gave him an unimpressed look.

They originally went around to some of the houses before Henry noticed that the convent was giving out candy. A bunch of the nuns were handing out candy while Mother Superior watched on. They all still wore their blue uniforms, but all of them save Mother Superior had some sort of creative headband on their heads. One wore cat ears, one had spiders on her headband, and so on and so forth.

“Trick-or-treat!” Henry and LJ said in unison, accepting candy from one of the nuns, who was wearing a headband that had some sort of fruit sticking out from them. 

“Are those plums?” LJ asked.

“Sugar plums, actually.” The nun informed them. 

“Astrid, are you ready?” A newer, younger voice asked the nun with the sugar plum headband. 

Henry turned his head to find two girls there. One was older than he was, a teenager but a young one, with straight dirty blonde hair in a tight ponytail as her brown eyes looked at Astrid the nun. Next to her was a little Asian girl, maybe four or five years old, with short, thin, straight black hair that barely went past the nape of her neck. 

The older girl wore a white loose and short-sleeved shirt along with a long, light blue skirt with blue sneakers sneaking out from the bottom of the skirt. She also wore a dark green belt around her middle that matched the dark green headband on her head. She also wore a pair of fake rings on her back, secured by straps around her shoulders, that were made of a clear material, the wires giving the wings a sort of butterfly-wing shape. 

The little girl looked at the older girl’s wings with a touch of sadness and envy, though she held her purple, plastic wand closer to her chest. The girl wore a tutu that held a mixture of bright and dark pink, while her leggings and shirt were a light, almost pale pink color. The older girl looked down at the little girl, and that’s when Henry noticed that the older girl held a jacket in her hand, which she quickly urged the little girl to get into, which the girl reluctantly went along with.    
  
“Oh, yes.” Astrid said before handing the two girls the last of the candy from her nearly empty candy bowl. “Let me just grab my coat. Stay here please.”        

Astrid then went into the convent, though not before tripping on one of the steps, nearly squashing a nearby jack-o'-lantern.

That’s when the little girl looked at someone behind Henry, and turning his head he saw that she was looking at Emma. When Henry turned back, he saw the little girl tugging the skirt of the older girl, pointing at Emma with her wand as she whispered (quite loudly), “Phoebe look, it’s a princess!”    

Henry couldn’t help but look back at Emma with a certain amount of smugness, to which Emma looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. 

The little girl then released the older girl, Phoebe’s skirts, and walking up to look at Emma. “Are you a princess?”

“Um…” Emma trailed off, but after getting a significant look from Emma, particularly Phoebe who motioned for Emma to go along with it, she finished off with, “Yeah, sure.”

The little girl gave Emma a bright smile before reaching into her candy bowl, then pulling out a Snickers. “You want my Snickers?” She asked, holding the piece out to Emma.

“Oh, no, that’s okay.” Emma told her, discreetly sending a look at Ray, who had jokingly placed a hand on his heart and let out a silent ‘Awww’. 

“It’s okay, I have another one.” The little girl said.

Henry saw Emma look at Phoebe, seemingly at a loss for what to do. 

“Might as well.” Phoebe shrugged. “After all, it’s magical candy from a fairy.”

At that, Emma let out a little chuckle, and accepted the Snickers. “Thanks.”

After a nudge from Phoebe, the little girl piped up, “You’re welcome.” That’s when the little girl looked behind her. More specifically, at her lack of wings. “I don’t look like a real fairy though.”

“I don’t know about that.” Killian suddenly piped up, causing both girls to look at him. He then told Mai, “You look like a proper fairy to me.”

“I do?” The little girl asked excitedly. At Killian’s nod, she smiled brightly. She then immediately offered him a Snickers. 

“Sorry about the wait.” Astrid came in. That’s when she noticed the group. “Oh hello. Are you all enjoying Halloween?”

Before any of them could respond, the little girl piped up, “Are you a pirate?” She directly this question to Killian, and even though Astrid scolded her with a gentle, “Mai,” she continued staring at Killian with a scrutinizing look that somehow made Killian _ fidget _ .

Henry decided if he’d tease him about it later.

“A sailor, actually.” Killian corrected her.

Mai paused for a few moments before declaring, “You’d be a better pirate.”

Both Henry and LJ found themselves snickering at the somewhat dumbfounded look on Killian’s face, and waved Mai, Phoebe, and Astrid away as the nun hurried them off. 

Their own group began to make their way around town again, and that’s when Henry overheard a conversation between Emma and Killian. 

“You know, you’re pretty good with kids.” Emma told Killian in a low voice, which probably meant that she wanted to keep it a secret.

“I just accepted a piece of candy.” Henry heard Killian reply. “Besides, she seemed enraptured by you.”

“Only because of this.” Emma told him, briefly lifting up her skirt. “I’m not actually a princess.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Killian replied, and it seemed that he didn’t realize what he’d said until he said it. Both of them looked away from each other, and Henry was amazed that both of them were _ blushing _ .

It was then that Henry wondered if he should create a separate operation just for them.

* * *

 

Graham didn’t know what had gotten into Regina tonight. It wasn’t even that late, and she was out of it right after...it. Either way, Graham was still glad that, as usual, she was a heavy sleeper, as this allowed him a chance to quickly shower, get dressed, and head to the animal shelter. 

After all, he told Nancy he’d be there tonight, and he knew he’d feel a little better knowing he didn’t completely lie to her. 

“No costume tonight Graham?” Freddie, the lone janitor at the animal shelter, asked as he swept up something that looked suspiciously like cat vomit. 

Graham shrugged. “I kept putting it off, and then it was too late to find anything.” 

Freddie then pointed at the yellow cat ears he wore on his head. “You want to borrow mine?”

Graham shook his head. “No that’s fine.” He then looked around and saw that there weren’t any children. “No kids come by yet?”

“Not yet.” Freddie replied, finishing his cleaning job. “They’re probably still at the houses.” He then motioned to the pets around them, who had been resting in cages, with their names displayed on name tags attached to the bars of the cages - something to identify the pets the would hopefully be adopted by a loving family. “These guys are all ready though.”

Just then, some kids began flocking in, so Graham, Freddie, and the head of the shelter got to work. 

Optimistically, all of these pets - who were either abandoned by owners for one reason or another, whether negligence or an inability to care for them, or whose owners died - would be adopted. Since Graham didn’t rely entirely on optimism, he’d hope for a handful. 

Children came and went, many of them petting the animals and cooing over them, and a handful of them seemed interested in adopting, but sadly none of the parents were biting. Graham was disappointed, but it wasn’t unexpected. Most of these people were too worried about putting food on the table, and didn’t need another mouth to feed. That didn’t mean that Graham was happy with how things were turning out. Judging by the look on Freddie’s face, as well as the head of the shelter’s, they felt the same way. 

Eventually, a pair of familiar faces came in, and it lifted Graham’s mood. 

Fernando wore a green undershirt and green pants, with little black boots and a brown overshirt that was too long for him. However, that may have been the point, as it was bound by a black belt, and combined with brown hat with a feather in it, the kid looked like something out of a fairy tale book. The bow and arrow he was holding, with the arrow having a suction cup instead of a pointed tip, were a nice touch, along with the quiver full of similar arrows.

His mother wore a long peasant-sleeved magenta underdress, and the cuffs tightened around her wrists while the rest of the sleeve was looser. On top of that was a lavender overdress without sleeves. Her hair was held back by a light pink headpiece. She also had a quiver of what Graham suspected contained more of the same suction cups arrows.

_ Nancy _ , Graham suddenly thought,  _ looks lovely _ .

That’s when Nancy spotted him, and Graham felt strangely self-conscious about his lack of a costume.

Fernando spotted him too. “Hi Graham!” He greeted loudly before a quick whisper from his mother led him to whisper, “Hi Graham.”

“Hi there, Fernando.” Graham replied as he stepped closer to the young boy and his mother. “What are you supposed to be?”

“Guess.” Fernando teased.

Graham decided to play along. “Hmm...are you…a munchkin?”

“Noooo.” Fernando shook his head. 

“Hmm.” Graham rubbed his chin feigning thinking about it. “Are you Peter Pan?"

“Uh uh.” Fernando shook his head again before holding up one of his fingers. “One more chance.”

Graham then spotted Nancy mouthing something to him. “Are you…” Graham trailed off. “Robin Hood?”

“Yea-” Fernando started to shout, until he spotted his mother’s look, and he said “Yes.”

Graham then looked up at Nancy. “And that must make you Maid Marian?”

“What gave it away?” Nancy quipped with a lovely smile.

_ Keep it together Graham _ , he told himself. 

“So,” Graham said as he looked down at Fernando, “how’s the candy haul going?”

“I got lots of candy.” Fernando smiled, holding up his bag proudly. “I’m gonna get lots more.”

“But you’re not going to eat it all in one night, remember?” Nancy reminded her son, who began to pout.

Graham kneeled down so that he was eye level with Fernando. “Think of it this way. If you eat your greens before your candy, you’ll get big and strong enough to be depu-  _ sheriff _ .” Graham amended, catching the somewhat cross look on Fernando’s face when he nearly said ‘deputy’.

Soon enough though, Fernando smiled again. He looked up at his mother, “Mommy, can I look at the animals?”

Nancy agreed. “Just stay where I can see you.” 

Without further prompting, Fernando gravitated towards one of the cages, where an older dog perked up at the sight of a little kid fawning at them. 

This left Graham and Nancy alone. To combat the rising awareness of his heart pumping, Graham teased, “Am I going to have to inspect that weapon of yours?”

For a second, Nancy looked confused before it dawned on her, and she pulled out an arrow. Graham was right. They had suction cups. “Sorry Sheriff, but I worked too hard on these weapons to hand them over to the law.”

Graham tilted his head back jokingly. “Is that a challenge I hear?”

Nancy placed her hands on her hips, the arrow still in hand. “And what if it is?” She asked in mock defiance. Nancy looked at him daringly, her brown eyes meeting his own brown eyes, neither of them wavering, or willing to try to fight this sudden pull towards each other.

Graham felt a little bold. “Well, I just might-”

“Mommy!” Fernando’s voice jolted them back to reality, and both of them turned to look at Fernando, who was pointing at one of the dogs. “Look, it’s a Dalmatian.”

“Yes, sweetie, I see him.” Nancy forced a smile on her face, even as Fernando corrected “It’s a she!”

Graham, unwilling to let things end like that, suddenly said, “Um, Nancy? You still think that offer to...you know, have lunch or something still stands?"

Nancy seemed a might stunned before recovering. “Oh, yes, what day are you thinking? Saturday maybe?”

_ Not bloody likely _ , Graham thought, thinking of his upcoming Saturday ‘council meeting’ with Regina. He told Nancy as much, sans mentioning Regina specifically. “Maybe Sunday though? You think you’d have time. I’d understand if you can’t-”

“I think I can be there.” Nancy said quickly before amending. “If Regina gives me the day off. Besides, Fernando barely gets to spend time with Alan, and Alan really wants to see him, so I could ask if he’s available.”

In spite of himself, Graham smiled. “Deal. We’ll settle things on Friday then?”

Nancy smiled back. “Definitely.” 

Nancy and Fernando eventually left to continue with trick-or-treating. A few pets were adopted, or set to be looked at for adoption, and Graham might’ve somehow stumbled into a friendly date with a beautiful woman.

Overall, not a bad night.

* * *

 

Henry didn’t realize that there was a ghost hanging around them. Not a real ghost - as cool as that would’ve been - but a kid wearing a white sheet with two holes where the eyes go. 

Henry first noticed the ghost around the hospital, where Walter and Lea, the two security guards he saw when Prince Charming went missing, handing out candy. Although, Walter kept falling asleep, leaving Lea to pick up the slack.

_ Maybe he has a condition? _ , Henry thought. 

That was the moment when he noticed the kid ghost sticking close enough to Henry’s group that they might’ve been mistaken as being with them, but not so close as to draw their attention. Henry would’ve missed the kid had Henry not been bored with how slow the line was going, and he probably wouldn’t have thought much on it if the kid didn’t also show up at the same distance from them when they went to an autoshop.

The place was a little out of the way, so there weren’t as many kids around. Ray and Killian were talking about something, while one of the mechanics - a guy with the nametag “Michael” - was talking to Emma about something else. He still had enough awareness to hand off candy to a girl with blonde wavy hair and a boy with short, brown hair, both with the same blue eyes, before the kids went off. 

Henry noticed how the kid, once he had gotten some candy from a mechanic named Billy, just kind of stood there. They weren’t looking at Henry directly, but they didn’t seem to be looking at anyone else. They were just holding his dirt-smudged pillowcase filled with candy close to them, the bottom of their blue jeans and their dirty sneakers peeking out from under the shirt, and bare pale arms peeked out from where it was holding the pillowcase. 

Henry nudged LJ, who looked a little annoyed at being interrupted from checking his own candy, but when Henry nodded in the direction of the kid, LJ looked a little more interested. Especially when Henry told him that the kid had been following them. So, they did what they thought was natural.

They just walked straight up to this unknown kid.

“Hi.” Henry greeted, and he noticed how the kid started a little. “Who are you?”

The kid didn’t answer.

LJ looked around. “Where are your parents?” He asked.

The kid still didn’t answer.

_ O-kay _ , Henry thought to himself.  _ Maybe this really is a ghost? _

He thought for maybe half a second, but that was ridiculous….wasn’t it?

No, he saw the pale arms.

_ Of a ghost? _ A voice in the back of his head questioned, right before Henry told it to shut up. 

“Do you want us to help us find your parents?” LJ asked the ghost (kid, ghost _ kid _ ). “You can hang out with us for a while?”

Another pause passed, and just as Henry thought LJ’s question would be met with another silence, the ghost kid finally spoke. “You sure?”

LJ looked at Henry, who gave him a nod of agreement. “Sure.” LJ said. “We could use a ghost to scare away kids, so we can get more candy.”

This got a chuckle out of the kid, who’s voice indicated that it was a boy. “Yeah. A ghost, a knight, and Captain America. We can kick real ass.”

A little shocked at the swearing, a few giggles still came out of Henry, and LJ too by the sounds of it. 

That’s when Ray came over. “Hey there. Who’s this?” He asked Henry and LJ.

“Oh, this is…” Henry trailed off, looking back at the ghost who suddenly went stiff. “Um, what’s your name?”

The ghost kid went silent again. 

Ray looked around the area. “Where are your parents, kid?” 

The ghost kid didn’t answer, and just then Henry, LJ, and Ray’s attention was turned to Killian calling over to them. His eyes then suddenly followed something that was getting further from them, and when Henry turned around, he saw that the ghost kid was no longer there. He only just managed to catch a glimpse of the ghost kid running around a corner before he disappeared from sight.

“Who was that?” Emma asked as she and Killian walked towards them.

“I don’t know.” Ray replied before once again asking Henry and LJ if they knew the kid. When both of them said they didn’t, Ray got a worried look on his face. 

They tried looking for the kid, but he was nowhere in sight. Despite the concerned look on her face, Emma said that they couldn’t find him now, but she’d tell Graham, just in case he didn’t just simply wander away from his parents. 

They continued their trick-or-treating, and eventually they got to a point where it was getting really late, and so LJ and Ray left to go home. This left Henry, Emma, and Killian to go back to the library.

_ I wonder if I’ll see him again _ , Henry thought as he walked with his birth mom and his tutor. _ Whoever he is. _

* * *

 

He was trying, he really was trying, but he couldn’t remember his life as David Nolan. According to everyone, especially his _ wife _ , that’s who he was. However, the name meant nothing to him. Maybe it was the amnesia, but his supposed identity as David Nolan, missing man turned coma patient, was just one big nothingness. 

Again, the coma probably had something to do with that, but he just felt uncomfortable with how hard Kathryn, his supposed wife, was trying to make nice with him. 

Kathryn apologized at first. She said that they fought, and he left town afterwards, and that she hadn’t looked for him because she thought he had made it to Boston left her with a lot of guilt.

David felt bad for her, and gave her his forgiveness. He had the feeling that, while she accepted it, she would’ve felt better if he remembered what he was forgiving her for.

When visiting hours were up, Kathryn told him she’d be back tomorrow, and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. 

David had touched his cheek afterwards, but instead of remembering Kathryn’s brief kiss there, he instead remembered the hands of his rescuer - one of them - cupping his face, smiling down at him with great relief. He barely remembered waking up and walking out of the hospital and into the woods for hours, but he did remember her. The rescuer who told him he’d be okay, even as he lay on the cold ground shivering as his wet hospital gown freezed him more.

Without realizing it, David’s fingers, which previously touched his cheek, gravitated towards his lips. Before he knew it, he was thinking of his rescuer while tracing his lips.

Who was she, and would he see her again?

* * *

 

Mary Margaret ran out of the last of her candy, placing a sign on her door signaling that when she felt a pressure on her lips. She touched her lips, but she couldn’t understand what this feeling was. She hadn’t kissed anyone since…

Mary Margaret still couldn’t believe that he was married. All that time, and his wife never checked the hospital? She understood that they were having marital problems…

Mary Margaret shook her head. It didn’t matter now. What did matter was that he was safe, and he would get his memories back and be okay. 

Besides, Mary Margaret was glad that he had a family now. Now he wouldn’t be alone.

* * *

 

Emma was surprised. She hadn’t really expected it. She’d promised to give tonight her best shot, but she was still surprised to find that she’d...had fun. A lot more than she thought she would.

Henry was happy and was making a new friend. Emma got to hang out with Killian and Ray. And, this was especially important, she and Henry got to spend an entire night together without any problems or crisis popping up. There was that lone kid in the ghostly sheet costume, and she’d keep an eye out for him - though what would she say, ‘Child, roughly 4’11, last seen wearing a sheet’? - but overall this had actually been a really good night.

Emma couldn’t remember the last time she’d thought about going to bed after a day had a shit start but a nice ending. 

“Emma?” Henry asked as he walked in between her and Killian towards the library, which was on the way to Henry’s house.

“Mhmm?” Emma inquired.

“Can you hide my candy at your house?” Henry asked. “I’m worried that my mom is gonna throw some of it away.”

Maybe it was the good feeling she was having, and maybe it was the puppy dog eyes Henry was deliberately sending her way. Either way, Emma immediately agreed, causing Henry to give her a grateful “Thank you”. He then asked Killian if he could hide his shield at the library, for similar reasons, to which Killian agreed.

Henry then handed Emma his bag. “I should head home now.”

“You sure you don’t want me to walk you back?” Emma asked.

“I’m sure. Thanks again.” Henry said. 

“No problem.” Emma told him.

Henry looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he decided to give her a sudden hug, which Emma immediately returned. Once they broke the hug, Henry looked at Killian, and gave him a hug as well, which Killian also returned. Breaking away, Henry started running in the direction of his house, waving as he said “Goodbye!”

At the same time, both Emma and Killian shouted “Look both ways!” 

Henry soon disappeared out of sight, leaving Emma and Killian alone at the library. Well, mostly. It looked empty, but after a quick look inside, Killian confirmed that Dada was still inside. After sending the girl home, that left the two of them truly alone. 

Emma took a look at the candy bag in her hand, and at the shield in Killian’s. “Looks like we’ve got some booty to stow away.”

Killian scrutinized her for a second before a dawning look came over his face. “Did you just make a pirate reference?”

Emma just smirked back at him. “Well, I do remember a certain little girl saying you’d make a better pirate.”

Killian have her a faux affronted look. “The nerve of you, Your Highness. I’d make a fine sailor.”

Emma just waved her candy bag-free hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. 

Killian chuckled. “I hope you realize that I will have to challenge you.”

“To a duel?” Emma scoffed.

He then dramatically held up the shield. “Why yes, Your Highness, for you have insulted my honor, and I am duty bound to rectify this.”

Emma smirked at him again. “You practice that in the mirror, or did you come up with that on the fly?”

“It’s a gift.” Killian said with a smirk of his own. 

Emma couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “I have to admit, you look pretty put together. I just kind of threw all this on, with help of course.”

Killian then lowered his shield arm. “Don’t sell yourself short, Swan. I seem to recall a certain little girl easily seeing you as a princess.”

“She was probably four or five.” Emma told him. That’s when she remembered something else he’d said.

_ Could’ve fooled me. _ He’d said after Emma expressed her disbelief that anyone would mistake  _ her _ for a princess. She’d also remembered the surprised look on his face, how Killian only just seemed to realize what he’d said, and how they’d both looked away blushing.  __

Emma just managed to get the smile that threatened to break out on her face under control.

“Sometimes children can be much wiser than we adults.” Killian told her, noticing the almost smile.

“And craftier.” Emma said holding up the bag. “Should I be worried that Henry managed to convince both of us to hide stuff from his mom?”

Emma and Killian looked each other for a moment, before both of them simultaneously shook their heads and said “No.”

“Still, the lad seemed quite happy.” Killian noted.

“Mhmm.” Emma agreed. “It’s good that he’s making friends.”

_ Maybe he won’t be so lonely, _ she thought. Though she also wondered how things would go if LJ learned about Henry’s...beliefs.  _ Henry would be heartbroken if he lost a potential friend. _

Emma’s thoughts then went to that kid with the ghost costume. Something about him unsettled her. Or rather, something about the way he was so skittish around them made her feel uneasy, especially with the way Ray told them he’d booked it right after he came over. He claimed not to know the kid, and she believed him, but that didn’t exactly settle the slight twist in her gut as she wondered what happened to that kid. She hoped that he was okay, or that he’d at least find a safe place to sleep tonight. 

“What are you thinking about, Swan?” Killian’s voice broke into her thoughts. He had come closer to her personal space during her musings. 

Emma bit her lip. “I can’t get that kid in the ghost costume out of my head.” Emma then started to frown, because something else was niggling in her mind. “I don’t know. I couldn’t figure out who he was and…” Emma didn’t know what else to say, so she just sighed. 

Killian contemplated his words. “You said you were going to mention this to Graham right?” At Emma’s nod, he continued, “Then you’re doing something to rectify things. Who knows? He might come around sooner or later.”

“Maybe…” Emma trailed off.

Killian took a half-step closer to Emma, which her mind made her immediately aware of. “Then relax. Enjoy the night, Swan. This was a good day. Or am I wrong?”

Emma paused before admitting, “No.” A small smile then slowly appeared on her face. “It was good.”

Killian gave her a smile in return, which showed off his white teeth. “Excellent.”

That’s when Emma realized something. “Oh, wait, I didn’t really tell you yet, did I?”

“Tell me what?” Killian asked curiously.

“I got a job here.” Emma said, suddenly nervous. “I’m going to be Graham’s deputy.”

Killian made an ‘Ah’ sound. “So Graham should definitely listen to you about our mystery ghost... _ Deputy _ Swan.” He emphasized the title with a raised eyebrow and small smirk. 

Emma rolled her eyes, about to return a retort, but she was distracted by his focus on her. Emma felt whatever she was going to say melt away until it was nearly forgotten in her mind, and even then it didn’t take long until it disappeared completely. There they were, just standing there and staring at each other. Emma took note of how Killian bit his lip, his white teeth pressing against his bottom pink lip, the skin there briefly turning white before returning to color, this time with a darker red-

Oh god she was staring at his lip. How long has she been staring? How long had he been staring at her?

Emma cleared her throat. “I should, uh, head back.”

Killian raised his hand, presumably to scratch the back of his head, but instead he nearly smacked himself in the face with the shield. “Ah, yes, well...goodnight then.”

“Goodnight Killian.” Emma said, turning around to head to Mary Margaret’s department. 

Before she turned the corner, she managed to catch one last glimpse at Killian, who appeared to have waited by the door of the library, trying to catch one last glimpse at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Henry spent Halloween together, Graham and Nancy have a little flirting, and so do Emma and Killian. Plus they may have gotten some shippers. 
> 
> What did you think? Let me know in the review box below!
> 
> See you soon!


	7. Believers Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so we get to That Small Still Voice. Henry becomes resolved to finding a way to break the curse, taking extreme measures and putting himself and others in danger, but he may end up forging more friendships on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So happy about all of the kudos and comments. Each one fuels me :)
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).
> 
> Special thanks to CantStopMyFandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_November 1, 2011_

Henry wondered why he didn’t realize it before. Archie helped people with their problems, tried to guide them on the right path, and even have an umbrella as a constant companion. Then again, the presence of Pongo kind of threw him off, but Henry was more certain now about who Archie really was.

“You weren’t always a cricket.” He told his therapist. Well, reminded him, as he’d told him a few minutes earlier who he suspected Archie was.

Archie looked up from whatever he was scribbling down in his journal. “I wasn’t al…” Archie trailed off confusedly. Then it hit him. “ _Oh_ , right, because, um...because you think I’m Jiminy Cricket.”

 _Well, duh,_ Henry thought.

“Why do you...why do you think that Henry?” Archie asked as he placed his journal down on a nearby small table.

Henry shrugged. “It's just because of who you are.”

“And who am I?” Archie asked immediately.

“You’re a conscience.” Henry said resolutely. “You help people see right from wrong.”

Archie paused. “So all of the crickets in Storybrooke, they were once people too?”

“There aren’t any crickets here. Listen.” Henry told him as he stood up, and went over to a window, opening it so that Archie could listen to the night air. Or rather, what was _missing_. An owl hooted, but no other creature was heard, least of all a cricket. Henry didn’t notice it at first. He just figured that that was just how things were. It was only when he left Storybrooke in search of Emma that he heard crickets for the first time. It freaked him out a little bit, but once a random and irate stranger told him ‘Those are crickets, stupid’, Henry couldn’t unhear the sound of the insects calling out to each other in the night, even when he was back in Storybrooke and there was nothing but silence, save for the owls.

“Maybe it isn’t late enough.” Archie offered as he set down a mug he had just picked up.

“There's never been crickets here.” Henry replied. “You've just never noticed.”

“So you think that’s proof that there’s a curse?” Archie asked.

“Yes, but I know it's not enough.” Henry said. “Killian told me that adults don’t take things at face value, so that’s why I’m looking for more.”

“Did he?” Archie asked. “What else did Killian say?”

“He doesn’t believe in the curse, if that’s what you’re asking.” Henry said, squashing down the hurt he felt at being made to feel like he was losing his mind for knowing the truth.

“You seem quite close to Killian.” Archie observed.

“He’s nice.” Henry said as he sat back down. “He’s also really good at math. I can actually understand it. And I think he likes my mom.”

Archie smiled at that. “Oh? What makes you say that?”

Henry rolled his eyes a little. “Come on, it’s kind of obvious. They just...do things, and I think my mom likes him too.”

“And how would it make you feel if they got together?” Archie asked.

“I think...I want them to be happy, and if they make each other happy, then I’d be okay with that.” Henry said optimistically. “That’s why I think I should try to get them together."

Archie just smiled again. “Well, Henry, they are grown adults. They are allowed to make their own choices.” When Henry tried to speak, Archie gently spoke over them. “It’s better to let things progress naturally, so it’s better for them to take on their relationship at their own pace. Do you understand?”

“Yeah...” Henry trailed off, keeping Operation Snow Owl in mind. Still, Archie was right. It wouldn’t do any good if they got spooked like horses. If he was going to get Emma and Killian together, he’d need to plan this operation out very carefully. “It’s kind of like the curse. I’ve been telling people about it for a while, but they don’t believe it. They need to figure it out themselves. I can’t just tell-” Henry cut himself off, thinking about how he was suddenly very worried about his new friend would think he’s too crazy to hang out with.

“What is it Henry?” Archie asked, more interested now than before. “You can’t tell who what?”

“My friend.” Henry answered, suddenly shy.

“Oh?” Archie asked with a smile. “Who is this new friend?”

“His name is LJ.” Henry told him. “I met him on Halloween. I...don’t really know how old he is, but he’s taller than me so I think he’s older than me.” This brought out a small chuckle from Archie. “And today we ate lunch together.”

“That’s good.” Archie said. “It’s good that you’re expanding your social circle.”

Archie was more than happy to hear this. Part of what he believed caused Henry’s fantasy was a lack of a social circle, and a lack of friends to help with a possibly troubled home life. One was a good start, and if this other child proved to be a loyal friend, then perhaps they could really start making progress in moving Henry away from this fantasy.

“I want to wait to tell him about the curse though.” Henry said.

...Perhaps not. “Henry…” Archie started. “Why do you want to tell LJ about the curse?”

“Because he’s cursed too.” Henry said, like it was obvious. And to him, it was. “He deserves to know the truth.”

 _Well,_ Archie thought, _at least he’s decided to wait until letting his new friend know what Henry thinks is really going on in town. That still leaves the problem of what happens when Henry finally gets around to telling him..._

“Henry, look,” Archie started, hoping to get Henry back on track. “I asked you this once before and you said you'd think about it. Why do you think it is so important that this is real?”

“It…” Henry trailed off. “It just is.”

Archie said, “Alright, well...keep thinking about that answer Henry, 'cause I think there's something buried there.”

Henry couldn’t hide his disappointment. Archie still didn’t seem to believe him. Henry could try showing him the book, but he didn’t know if Archie would tell his mom or not. Maybe he’d already said too much.

For his part, Archie felt bad about the put out look on Henry’s face. “What are you thinking about?”

Henry shrugged. “Nothing.”

Why did Archie feel like they just took a step back? “You sure it’s just nothing?” Then, he hazarded a guess. “Are you upset about my feelings on the curse?”

“No.” Henry muttered.  A lie, he knew, but he just wanted this session to be over. “It’s not your fault. It’s just the curse talking.”

Archie wasn’t entirely sure of Henry’s words, feeling that he most certainly had played a part in Henry’s minor regression. Perhaps he could rectify things in their next session, barring anything else that could trigger a further setback.

* * *

 

Graham, Emma thought, was nice enough to offer to have dinner with her. Well, a coffee and a sandwich at Granny’s, since apparently Graham lived on the same diet of _just_ getting by Emma did.

Graham, unlike Emma, apparently had an variation of the diet that included a daily helping of being painfully shy around a crush.

“I’m begging you, just talk to her.” Emma told Graham in equal parts teasing and actual exasperation.

“Excuse me?” Graham asked, turning back to face Emma after catching more than one glance at Nancy, who had been ordering some food at the counter.

Emma gave him a look that clearly said, ‘You know who I mean’.

“I will.” Graham said. Several moments passed, and after Emma refused to break eye contact, Graham said, “On Friday.”

“You mean you’re going to talk to her on Friday?” Emma scoffed. “Why not now?”

“Because…” Graham trailed off before he tried to ‘casually’ pick at his half-eaten sandwich, eventually telling Emma in a shy voice, “that’s when we’re confirming lunch for Sunday.”

Emma couldn’t help it. She started “Ooh”-ing.

Graham looked at her flatly. “None of that. It’s just a lunch.”

“Uh huh.” Emma replied.

Graham then looked at Emma in challenge. “Tell you what? I’ll talk to Nancy right now if you walk to the library and talk to Killian straight away.”

Shock quietly reverberated throughout Emma’s body, but it didn’t take her long to meet Graham’s stare with one of her own.

Both of them leaned back in their seats, and each took a sip of their coffee, knowing that they were at an impasse.

Eventually Graham did talk to Nancy...as in he gave her a quick goodbye as they walked out of the diner, one she wasn’t even sure Nancy heard, so Emma didn’t count that as him making progress. They made their way to the Sheriff’s station. The whole day was basically a review of the different routes in town, which culminated in what Graham claimed would be her new uniform.

She decided to focus on that rather than Graham’s comment about her and Killian in the diner.

The...uniform was...well, it was brown. As in the whole thing had one shade of brown or another, but most of all it looked loose and drab and Graham wasn't even wearing it a version of it.

Emma held the shirt in front of her, already hating the idea of it being on her body. Looking at Graham, Emma figured that he wasn’t enthusiastic about the monstrosity either. “Really?” Was all she said.

“We can build a bonfire later.” Graham said. “For now, I just wanted to ease you into this job.”

“By showing me this?” Emma replied sarcastically, now loosely holding the thing in one hand.

“You’re right, that was a bad start.” Graham laughed. “Okay, I’ll just take that and throw it in the closet."

Emma threw it in the trash.

Graham simply said, “Close enough.”

“Now what?” Emma asked.

Graham then tried to hand her a badge. “At least wear that.” Seeing her hesitation, he continued, “If you really want to be a part of this community, you have to make it official.”

“Alright, alright.” Emma jokingly groused, taking the deputy’s badge from Graham’s hand, and clipping it onto her belt.

“There now.” Graham said. “That wasn’t so-”

A loud tremor rocked through the building for only two seconds, but it was enough to unsteady Emma and Graham, both reaching for a nearby desk for balance. The force of the tremor was enough to knock a lamp off one of the tables, and after it was over, a car somewhere outside began to blare its horn in protest. Dogs began barking, and the phone rang, and then another phone rang. Soon, they were followed by multiple phones ringing.

“Hello?” Graham asked, answering one of the phones. “Yeah, we felt it here.” He then tried to calm down whoever it was on the other line. “We don’t know what it was yet, but- Emma answer one of the phones.”

That spurred Emma into action, and she began the process of calming down several people who were calling about the tremor. Eventually, based on the collective information of panicked citizens, Emma and Graham realized that the source of the tremors was around what Graham claimed were abandoned mines.

Who mines in _Maine?_

Graham drove them to the site in his car, and a crowd of people were already gathered there.

As was Regina.

“Everyone step back please.” Regina told the crowd.

The mines drew Emma’s eye. As she heard Marco explain that something about the old mines collapsed, she saw that the main entrance to the mines was nearly caved in, with heavy metal bars and beams acting as a makeshift, and probably unstable, door to the mines inside.

As Regina told people to continue stepping back, she noticed Graham approaching, not even noticing Emma’s presence.

“Sheriff, set up a police perimeter.” She ordered before turning to Marco. “Marco, why don't you help with the fire department?” That’s when she finally noticed Emma. “Miss Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go.”

Emma couldn’t help but smile. “Well, actually I work for the town now.”

Graham answered Regina’s silent stare with, “She's my new deputy.”

“They say the mayor’s always the last to know.” Regina said, neither giving her acceptance or admitting her displeasure with this recent development.

“It’s in my budget.” Graham shrugged.

“Indeed.” Regina said, giving Graham one last look before she addressed Emma. “Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?” Without waiting for Emma’s answer, she turned back to the crowd. “People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels, but fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe, to rehabilitate it to city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it.”

“Pave it?” A familiar voice asked. Emma soon realized that it was Henry, who was accompanied by Archie. “What if there’s something down there?”

Regina and Henry then began whispering something back and forth. Emma couldn’t tell what it was about, but neither looked particularly happy with the others answers.

Regina then dismissed Henry to wait for her in the car before she addressed Emma and Graham again. “Deputy Swan, Sheriff, cordon off the area.”

Despite being sent to the car, Henry waited until Regina wasn’t paying attention to wave Archie and Emma over. “This requires all of Operation Cobra...both of you.” Henry told him.

Archie looked somewhat surprised. “I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra.”

“Of course you are.” Henry told him. “You know everything. We can't let her do this. What if there's something down there?”

“They’re just some old tunnels.” Emma replied. “Besides, it seems like they’ve been ready to collapse for a while now.”

“And they waited until you got here to just collapse?” Henry asked skeptically. “You're changing things. You're weakening the curse.”

“That’s not what’s happening.” Emma told Henry.

“Yes it is.” He insisted before he straightened up, suddenly thinking of something. “Did you do anything different today? 'Cause something made this happen.”

Without meaning to, Emma touched the deputy’s badge on her belt.

That’s when Regina came back over. “Henry, I told you to wait in the car. Deputy, do you job.”

There wasn’t much sense in arguing. Even if a petty part of Emma wanted to do the opposite just to spite Regina, Emma knew that she had help Graham set up boundaries before some knucklehead decided it would be a good idea to go explore the mines. She just hoped no one was stupid or suicidal enough to try it out.

* * *

 

Henry waited until his mom checked in on him ‘obediently’ staying in his room for the third time until he decided to escape to the library.

He knew that his mom was hiding something in those mines, though Henry didn’t have any idea what. Maybe it was something really big, and it was had woken up or something because the curse weakening, and that’s what caused the mine collapse.

Or maybe it was something really tiny, and it would be something that Henry would miss when he went into those mines.

Because he was going into those mines. His mom, Henry had learned, never did anything that wasn’t for some reason, and that it had something to do with keeping the curse intact.

Lying to him and making him think he was crazy, when he knew the truth about the curse being real.

Telling him that Emma was trying to hurt them, while not admitting to framing her.

Having some random woman be Prince Charming’s wife, when they both knew that he was meant to be with Snow White.

Henry didn’t trust his mom anymore. If there was a part of him that still did, it was so small and quiet now that Henry rarely ever listened to it, except in moments of severe doubt where he really did wonder if he was just losing his mind, and all of this were just his attempts to hold onto a delusion.

Henry shook his head. That was exactly what his mom, the Evil Queen, wanted. She wanted him to lose his belief in the curse. Then she’d be one step close to ruling over everyone’s lives again. Emma’s belief in the curse was shaky at best, nonexistent at worst, and so he had to maintain his belief in it. He had to remind himself that it was real.

And one way to do that was to find whatever was in those mines that his mom didn’t want anyone else to see. He’d have proof, and then maybe he’d get to convince other people of the truth.

The idea that he’d be believed, that people would realize that he wasn’t losing his mind, and the idea that everyone would be one step closer to freedom, already lifted his mood, even if it was just a little bit.

His night was looking up. After all, Killian didn’t entirely question what he was doing at this late at night.

Mostly.

“Henry, what are you doing here?” Killian asked. “Did you need help with your homework?”

“Oh, you know.” Henry tried not to stammer as he closed the door of the library behind him. “I was just, uh, taking a walk.”

“Without your jacket?” Killian questioned.

Henry paused before he said, “I like to feel the night breeze.”

Killian eyed him skeptically. “Uh huh. What’s going on Henry?”

Henry sighed, knowing he’d been made. “I just...you know about the mine collapse?”

“Yeah.” Killian replied, watching Henry as he stepped close to Killian. “Ruby came by to tell us what happened. I had to send Dada home after the tremor, she…” Killian’s eyes became a little concerned before they focused on Henry once again. “What about the mines?”

“I think there’s something there.” Henry told him. “My mom wants to destroy the place, and she doesn’t want to let anyone inside. What if something’s in there, and she’s trying to seal it up before anyone can find out what it is?”

“Or maybe those mines have been a safety hazard for years, and your mother’s doing her job by finally sealing it off for good.” Killian offered that reasonable explanation.

Henry was unamused.

Apparently, it showed, before Killian took a more serious face as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Henry, you’re not going to do something dangerous like go to those mines, are you?” His tone clearly indicated that Henry should agree with him.

“No.” Henry nearly winced, the sound that came out of his mouth reminding him of the times his mom caught him with his hand in the cookie jar, claiming he’d never even saw the cookies.

Killian, of course, didn’t buy Henry’s lie for a second. “Henry, I’m not joking around this time. No one has worked in those mines in years for a reason. It’s a wonder they haven’t collapsed and _killed_ someone already.”

Henry didn’t want to concede, and he wouldn’t concede. Who knew what was down in the mines that was so important to his mom? He had to find out.

Killian, for his part, knew that Henry was determined to go to the mines, and he knew that he had to find some way to stop him. At least somewhat distracting Henry by reading a new book, one that he urged Henry to find amongst the aisles of the library, Killian kept the young boy in his sights as he made a phone call.

“Who is it?” A voice asked from the other end of the line.

“Emma, it’s Killian.” He replied. “We need to talk about Henry.”

* * *

 

Sometimes, Emma wondered how much of _her_ ended up in her kid.

Apparently, it was lot, because the minute Killian called her to tell her of his suspicions concerning Henry, she knew that he’d take the first chance someone wasn’t looking at him to explore those mines. Which is why she quickly went to the library, and now she and Killian were standing side-by-side, looking down at Henry, both with their arms crossed over their chests, as Henry tried not to fidget in the seat in front of them.

“Now Killian?” Emma prompted.

“Yes, Emma?” He replied.

“How dangerous would you say those mines are?” She asked.

“Quite dangerous, I believe.” Killian answered.

“I-” Henry started before a look from both her and Killian silenced them.

“Now, would you say that it would be _incredibly_ bad judgement to go into those mines?” Emma prompted again.

“I think it would be.” Killian said.

Emma continued, “So, the best thing to do would be to wait before those old mines were sealed up before going anywhere near them right?”

“Yes, I think that’d be wise.” Killian told her, though he made sure Henry heard him as well.

“I just need to find something.” Henry piped up.

This made Emma lose some of her patience. “Find _what?_ Henry, I wouldn’t let you go into those mines if someone’s life was in danger. Why? Because you’re _ten_ , you’ve never worked with any sort of mining or excavating equipment, and, let me reiterate, you’re _ten._ ”

“I haven’t even done anything yet.” Henry protested.

“No, but you want to try, don’t you?” Killian asked.

Henry didn’t answer. He was slowly descending into misery, and he berated himself not to cry when he felt his eyes beginning to hurt, the traitorous tears welling behind them like a dam. _I just wanted to find proof_ , he thought to himself, becoming a little angry. _Why should I feel bad about not wanting to be seen as crazy? Emma said she believed, and maybe she does, but she's too much of a skeptic. Why can’t just_ one _person believe in me?_

Emma didn’t miss the disappointed, almost hurt, look on Henry’s face, and she couldn’t help but try to soften her approach. She kneeled down, trying to look meet Henry’s eyes, but he was avoiding hers. “Henry, look at me.”

After a few seconds, Henry’s eyes met hers, and behind the small level of defiance, there was clear hurt there.

Emma felt her own heart hurt at the sight. _So, this is what it feels like to be the bad guy_ , Emma mused in her mind. Still, she knew it needed to be done, for Henry’s own good, but she needed to get him to listen to her. So, she made sure to soften her voice.

“Henry, we care about you.” Emma said as she saw, through her peripheral vision, as Killian kneeled down as well. “We’re only telling you this because we care about you too much to see you hurt.” Then, without meaning to, Emma’s voice cracked a little, though she managed to keep most of it under control as she forbade images of Henry’s body as broken or cut beneath the rubble of a collapsed mine. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”

“Henry,” Killian started, “do you know why I called Emma?” When Henry silently shook his head, his chin quivering a bit before the boy cleared his throat, Killian continued, “Because I want you to be safe. I know it may feel like we don’t trust you, but trust isn’t the issue here. The issue is that there are just some things we can’t risk with you, especially not your safety. You can do so much, but it won’t do anyone, least of all you, any good if you were hurt, or worse.”

Although Killian’s words were meant for Henry, they also reached Emma. She sensed no lie, no deception, no twisting of words. She just sensed sincerity as Killian told her kid that he cared about him, and Emma could see in the way Killian looked at Henry that there was nothing but...paternal _love_. If Emma asked him to confirm it, he might play it off, but Emma knew that Killian wanted nothing for Henry but the best out of life.

Just like her.

Emma’s heart thumped hard again, but unlike the other times, her heart beated with a warmth that slowly made her feel...safe. Like she could-

 _Trust him?_ Her mind asked her. Emma told herself, _I don’t know. Maybe?_

Her mind then told her, _Don’t get ahead of yourself Emma. That never ends well._

The one risk Emma decided to take was to gently grasp Henry’s hands, and she was relieved when he didn’t pull away. “Henry, please promise me that you won’t go into those mines.”

Henry sniffled before nodding. When Emma gently squeezed his hands, Henry said, “I promise.”

That’s when Emma decided to give Henry a hug, one he returned. Emma’s head rested over Henry’s left shoulder, so she didn’t see Killian reach over to grasp and gently squeeze Henry’s shoulder. She only knew when Henry reached over to pull Killian into that hug. Emma pulled back a little to see Killian cautiously begin to return the hug, and he only went in all the way when Emma gave him a nod.

The two of them hugged Henry, who sniffled a little more, and for that moment, things felt alright.

* * *

Regina knew she had to do something to seal off those mines. Things were changing too much and too fast for her liking. More to the point, she was afraid of whatever could possibly be in those mines.

She wasn’t lying when she said the area was dangerous. Even she never risked going inside. No use going through all that work to enact and maintain her curse to have it unraveled if she broke her neck.

Henry was persistent, and while Regina didn’t think he could convince that woman to go into the mines to investigate, Regina wasn’t taking any chances.

She’d seal up the mine. That was one step.

Another step she’d need to take was putting the truth out of Henry’s mind.

 _This has gone on for too long_ , Regina thought to herself as she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling of her room. Henry was supposed to be her son. He was supposed to love her, and be someone for her to love. He was meant to be hers, but now that woman was stealing him away from her. Her presence only made Henry’s belief in the curse stronger.

She had thought that the cricket therapist could’ve undone the damage, but it appears the gentle touch would not do.

Perhaps it was time to see if Dr. Hopper could shock Henry out of this daydream. The sooner Henry gave up on trying to break her curse, trying to help that woman break her curse, the better.

* * *

 

_November 2, 2011_

Henry knew something was off when he got home. Nancy wasn’t around, for one thing, but Henry didn’t feel too concerned about that. He’d occasionally become a witness to his mom berating Nancy, one time to the point of tears. He didn’t really know why she did it. Nancy was nice. When Henry was little, she would sometimes bring over Fernando so that the two of them could play.

She’d stop when Henry got too big, and it was the curse that made her think that Henry wouldn’t want to play with her young son.

Henry called out to his mom, announcing his presence in the house. There was silence, and for a moment Henry thought that maybe he could just slip away to the library. It’d be no trouble, and that’s what he usually did right after school. But today his mom wanted him to come home straight away.

What was so important that he had to miss his tutoring? And if it was important, why wasn’t she answering him?

Henry walked to his mom’s office, figuring that she would be there doing paperwork or something. The door was slightly ajar, and Henry briefly thought of when his mom got Emma to admit that she thought she was crazy, or so it had seemed at the time.

Pushing down his fear, Henry walked up to the door, raising a hand to knock on it, when he stilled at what his mom was saying.

“Why are you making me repeat myself?” His mom said tersely, and through the crack of the ajar door, Henry saw that she was on the phone. “You’ve let his imagination run rampant for too long.”

Who was she talking to? Henry tried to consciously slow down and quiet his breathing so as not to be caught eavesdropping.

“You are his therapist, not his nursemaid.” His mom nearly hissed.

 _My therapist?_ Henry thought, his mind absorbing the information as a cold hand closed around his gut. _Dr. Hopper? Is that who she’s talking to?_

His mom got mad. “I don’t _care_ what you do. Just get it to stop. You work for _me._ You're an employee, and I can fire you. This is my town. You will lose your office, lose your house. I can cut you down to size until you're a tiny, shrunken little creature, and your umbrella will be the only roof over the heads of you and your little mutt.”

There was a long pause before his mom spoke again, this time with a more pleased look. “Good. I’m glad I made myself clear. Enjoy your next session, Dr. Hopper.” His mom hung up.

Henry saw red. He pushed open the door, only slightly wincing as he pushed it with enough force that the knob hit the wall with a slam.

“Henry!” His mom scolded, her eyes going to where the door landed. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re not a little child anymore, you can’t just-”

“You’re trying to make me think I’m crazy!” Henry screamed. Oh boy did he scream. He hadn’t meant to, but the loud volume of his declaration came out of him unbidden.

“Henry!” His mom said sharply. “I will not be spoken to like that!”

“I heard what you told Dr. Hopper!” Henry shouted back, suddenly too angry to care that he was so going to be grounded for this.

His mom just sighed. “Henry, this is for your own good.”

“No, it’s not!” Henry told her angrily. “You just want me to think I’m crazy or lying about the curse so that it can stay intact.”

“Henry.” His mom said as she walked around the desk, trying to touch him, but he pulled out of her reach. His mom paused for a moment, but when she spoke, she looked angry. “It’s that woman, isn’t it? She’s the cause of your behavior. She’s the reason you’ve been acting out, why you’ve been talking back to me-”

“At least she doesn't make me think I’m crazy.” Henry shot back. “I hate you!”

Henry turned around, ignoring his mom calling after him as he ran out of the house.

He was still so angry. He couldn’t go back to this mom. He didn’t need to. He arrived at his destination before he even knew it.

Dr. Hopper opened his door. “Henry, I wasn’t-”

“I know what you said to my mom.” Henry said accusingly, still angry even as he saw Dr. Hopper flinch.

“Henry-” Dr. Hopper started, but Henry didn’t feel like being nice. He didn’t feel like being sympathetic.

He felt like screaming.

“I thought you cared about me.” Henry thought it would come out as a shout, but instead it came out as a hoarse whimper.

“I do care about you Henry.” Archie told him, looking hurt at the accusation.

“Then why would you tell my mom that that you would make me think I’m crazy?” Henry asked, his chest feeling tight.

“Henry, that’s not-” This time Archie cut himself off. “I just...I just think that you need to try to make progress.”

Henry might’ve had a retort, and it might’ve been a good one. Instead, what Henry did was unwilling let out a sob, one he tried to muffle with a hand over his mouth, only for another one to come along. He felt Archie try to reach for him, but Henry just turned around and ran again, too hurt to face the man he’d trusted so much.

Henry thought about going to the library.

 _Yes, Killian._ He thought. He could talk to Killian.

 _Another person who doesn’t believe you?_ A part of his mind questioned. _For someone else to think that you’re crazy._

Henry really should’ve been looking where he was going, because he ran into someone with enough force to knock them both to the ground.

“Ow, why?” A familiar voice groaned.

“Sorry.” Henry apologized, hastily wiping away the tears from his eyes, mentally commanding his body to stop crying immediately. With his sore eyes, Henry saw who it was he ran into. “LJ?”

“Yeah.” LJ said as the two of them got off the ground. “Why’d you knock me over?”

“Sorry.” Henry apologized again as he sniffled. His voice was rough as he spoke. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Great. Could it _be_ more obvious that he was crying?

“Hey, what happened?” LJ asked.

“Nothing.” Henry lied, and badly by the looks of it.

LJ paused before saying, “You want some ice cream? I think I have enough for a sundae?”

That’s when Henry realized that they weren’t far from the local ice cream shop. “Is that where you were going?”

“Yeah.” LJ answered. “I...was kind of doing it without my uncle knowing. I’m using my allowance, and he’s busy with a client anyways. So...you want to come?”

Henry thought about the offer. While he usually would’ve jumped at the chance to have ice cream, his anger and sadness ruined his appetite. He had no idea what would make him happy. What could he do to loosen the tight band around his chest?

He didn’t want to think about what caused all this, but suddenly it all came to him. The mines. The reason why his mom called Dr. Hopper to speed up the process of making him think he was crazy.

 _Of course_ , Henry thought. _How could I have no seen it?_

His mom must’ve been scared. Really scared. Why else would she try this hard to hurry things along? There has to be something in those mines. Something that could prove that the curse was real.

Hope began filling Henry again, and he was walking before he knew it.

“Henry, where are you going?” LJ asked as he followed him. “Henry?”

Henry walked towards the mines, and on the way, he told LJ about what had transpired. Well, not everything. He didn’t have the courage to tell him about the curse yet, wanting to hold onto at least one person that didn’t think he was crazy on some level. His friend reacted with sadness and anger that, while unable to match Henry’s, was still a little comforting to see. By the time they made it to the minds, though, LJ began asking questions.

“So...we’re going in there?” LJ asked, pointing warily at the nearly collapsed main entrance of the mines.

“Yep.” Henry said before amended, “Well, I am. You don’t have to.”

“You think I’m going to let you go in there by yourself?” LJ asked incredulously.

“Why are you guys going in there?”

Both Henry and LJ jumped in surprise, suddenly aware of a new person in their presence. They turned around at the same time to find a boy standing right behind them. The kid was around their age, and he was still dressed in their school uniform - like they were - and the dark hair of his eyebrow lifted up as he watched them curiously with his blue eyes.

“Who are you?” LJ asked.

The boy paused before saying, “Declan. Why are you guys going into the mines?”

“To explore.” Henry told him.

Declan looked at the mines warily.

Taking his silence as a way to escape, Henry said, “I’ll see you later.”

LJ grabbed his arm, stopping this progress. “Wait.” LJ let go of his arm, and then looked between the main entrance and the path back to town. Several long moments passed before he finally said, “If we go in, can we only stay for a little while? I don’t want my uncle to worry.”

Henry found himself nodding. “Okay, we’ll be real quick.”

“You might need this.” Declan said, and Henry saw that Declan had taken off the backpack he wore to take out a flashlight.

“How come you have a flashlight?” Henry asked.

“How come you’re really going into the mines?” Declan returned in a deadpan voice as he closed up his backpack, and put it back on. “Look, it’s probably dark in there, and if you let me come with you, I’ll let you use my flashlight.”

Henry was ready to accept when he remembered something. His promise to Emma to not go into the minds. He looked in the direction of the town. He suddenly felt terrible guilt, worrying about what breaking his promise to her might do. She would probably be hurt, and probably feel some measure of betrayal, and he would feel bad because he was the cause of it.

As he looked back into the mines, however, he thought about how strongly he needed to go inside. If there was something inside that could prove he wasn’t lying or making this up, or something that could weaken the curse even more, then it was worth the risk.

Henry made a decision. “Alright, you can come with me.”

“With us.” LJ corrected.

Henry couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, us.”

Soon, the three boys entered the mines.

Henry hadn’t noticed that a candy bar he had from Halloween, one that he forgot about in all this madness, fell out of his pocket as they entered the mine.

Declan was right. It was really dark in there, and the flashlight was their only real source of light. Declan walked between Henry and LJ, keeping his light straight ahead most of the time, unless Henry asked him to look at a certain thing. Occasionally, they’d come across a part of the mines that was slightly illuminated by some sunlight that peeked through some cracks of the ceiling, but those were few and far between. Those are the ones that seemed to freak out LJ the most, since he was convinced that’s where the mines were weakest.

Henry didn’t know whether or not that was true, but LJ refused to turn back.

“So, what are we looking for?” LJ asked, cautiously looking around.

“If it’s something really weird, or something that looks like it belongs in a fairy tale, that’s it.” Henry answered.

LJ gave him a blank look. “Wow. So descriptive. Really, I can see it in my head.”

Whatever retort Henry was about to say, a tremor knocked it out of his head. The boys all ended up holding onto each other, Declan waving the flashlight around in a frantic manner.

The tremor only lasted a few seconds, but it still took them a little time before they finally let each other go.

“Maybe we should go back.” LJ suggested.

A part of Henry agreed, but he knew that the mines wouldn’t be here forever, so he had to push on. “You can go back, but I have to keep going.”

Henry moved further in the direction of where Declan’s flashlight was.

He didn’t notice LJ and Declan looking at each other with flat looks before they both shrugged tiredly, silently agreeing that they’d come this far, and they both rejoined Henry.

Henry was starting to get worried. What if there wasn’t something there? Or what if it was so miniscule that he would’ve gone through all this for nothing?

Was he really losing his mind?

Henry shook his head. No, that was his mom talking. He knew the truth, and he was going to find evidence of that truth.

And he was going to find some way to make it up to LJ and Declan.

Speaking of which…

“By the way,” Declan started. “I never asked for your names.”

“Huh.” LJ said, probably realizing, like Henry had, that they’d never given him their names.

 _He followed us into a collapsing mine without asking for our names?_ Henry thought curiously.

“I’m LJ.” LJ told Declan, and he extended a hand towards Declan, which the guy shook. Henry, for some reason, focused on his pale hand, the way it kind of peeked out from under the dark sleeve of his sweater. Why did it-

“What’s your name?” Declan asked him.

“Uh, Henry.” He replied.

“So, uh…” Declan trailed off, suddenly becoming a little awkward. “What grade are you guys in?”

“5th grade.” Henry replied, and soon after LJ replied “7th grade.”

“I’m in 6th grade.” Declan said, and something about his voice seemed familiar to Henry.

Henry said, “Uh, Declan, have we met- Wait!” Henry halted the direction of Declan’s flashlight, pointing at something he thought shined for a brief moment. “Turn your flashlight in that direction.”

Declan did as Henry asked, and soon the shine from the flashlight reflected on something. They stepped closer, and Henry reached out and gently grabbed what was there. It was glass, which is why Henry took great care to not touch the edges, but there was some sort of design on it

“What is that?” Declan asked.

“Let me see.” LJ said, and Henry carefully did so. “Maybe it’s one of those special glass window things. Like the kind that looks all fancy.”

“Why would it be this deep in a mine?” Declan questioned.

“I don’t know.” LJ said, handing it to Declan when the boy silently asked for it. “What are you doing?”

Henry watched as Declan put the glass in his backpack.

Declan closed up his backpack, then put it back on, shrugging at them as he said, “What? It looked cool.”

“Henry?” Archie’s voice called out as his therapist came into view. “Henry?”

“Who’re you?” Declan asked suspiciously.

Archie looked between Declan and Henry. “Are you LJ?”

Before the real LJ could speak up Declan, still staring at Archie with suspicious, immediately starting spinning a bizarre lie. “No I’m Mort. This is Oswald, and that’s Willy.” Declan pointed to himself, LJ, and Henry in that order.

Both Henry and LJ looked at him curiously for a moment before Henry turned his attention back to Archie.

“Are you here to help me?” Henry asked hesitantly. He didn’t know if Archie was here to help, but then again, why else would he bother coming down here?

“No, Henry, we need to get out of here.” Archie replied.

Henry frowned at him. “No. I’m not leaving until I find proof. Let’s go guys.”

“Henry, stop!” Archie raised his voice, and something about it stopped Henry in his tracks. “When I ran into the mines, the entrance collapsed. We’re trapped here. There is no way out."

Archie’s words sunk in, and Henry felt himself become distant as LJ and Declan frantically asked if there was another way out. Guilt consumed Henry as he realized that he might’ve ended up trapping himself, two other boys, and Archie in the mines.

 _What am I going to do now?,_ Henry asked himself.

No answer came.

_Henry, please promise me that you won’t go into those mines._

Henry’s guilt deepened his misery. He just hoped that he lived long enough to say sorry.

* * *

 

Luckily for Henry, he forgot about his red scarf, which he had rolled into a messy ball a while back, and tried to keep stuffed in his pocket.

Luckily for everyone trapped in the mines, Archie missed it too, only noticing the candy bar Henry had dropped.

Even more luckily, Pongo was a very good dog.

* * *

Emma didn’t really know what to make of Pongo, Archie’s dog, running towards her, but she took note of the familiar red scarf in his mouth. Emma almost immediately recognized it as Henry’s, and she tried to take it out of the dog’s mouth, thinking that Henry must’ve just dropped it. The dog had other ideas.

It was only when she pursued it, and the dog guided her to the now completely collapsed entrance of the mines, Pongo circling around the rubble, that Emma paled and realized what had happened.

A call to Regina confirmed Emma’s worst fear.

Despite her and Killian’s warnings and their worries, Henry had still gone into the mines.

On instinct, Emma called Killian, and by the time she called Graham to tell him what happened, apparently Killian had apprised the sheriff of the situation. Graham drove himself and Killian to the site, and not long after it seemed like half the town showed up.

Regina was one of them. “Are you sure Henry’s down there?”

Emma held up Henry’s scarf. “I think so.”  
  
Regina scoffed. “That’s not proof. He could’ve dropped that anywhere.”  
  
Emma wanted to explain that Henry had talked to her about going to the mines, but she was worried that if she said anything to Regina, she would keep Henry from Emma.

That’s when Killian, who had been standing next to her, said, “No one else has seen him. He’s not at home, he wasn’t at the library, Dr. Hopper’s office, or his usual haunts. If he’s not at any of these places, and no one else has seen him, then can we really afford not to make sure he isn’t in there?”

Regina had no retort, though the small amount of fury behind her eyes was only dampened with worry over Henry.

Graham came over. “Pongo’s been barking up a storm at the entrance. I hate to say it, but I believe that Dr. Hopper is also inside.”

Just then, the ground began to shake, and Regina ran over to the workers who were trying to remove the rubble, yelling at them that they were making things worse.

Graham went over to take control of the situation.

“Why did Henry go in there?” Emma asked, not realizing she was speaking until the words came out of her mouth.

He had promised her that he wouldn’t go in, and while part of Emma was furious at the idea that he deliberately disobeyed her, broke a promise and went in there, but it was overwhelmed by how much she was trying to press down on the rising terror in her heart.

“I don’t know.” Killian replied. When he noticed that Emma didn’t answer, he stepped in front of her and waited until she looked him in the eyes. “He’s going to be fine.”

Emma looked in those forget-me-not blue eyes, full of sincerity and concern and warmth, and the little lost girl in her felt a indescribable pull towards him.

What really reached Emma was that he believed it. At least, most of him believed that they would get Henry back.

Smiling at him, Emma said, “Enough yapping then. We’re getting Henry out.”  
  
“Of course we are.” Killian agreed. “You’re a mother on a mission, Swan. You won’t fail.”  
  
He said it with such certainty that Emma herself believed it, and she stood taller, feeling resolute. “Let’s get to work then.” 

* * *

 

Henry heard the gasping breathing behind him and looked back at Declan. “Are you okay?”

Declan was beginning to hyperventilate, but when Archie tried to touch him, his expression showing that he clearly wanted to help, Declan pulled away, not breathing harsher.

Declan then hastily took off his backpack, carelessly letting it drop to the floor as he held something close to his chest. Upon further inspection, Henry say that it was an egg, but it was bigger than a chicken egg, and it was fake from the looks of it.

“Breathe.” Archie told him. “Deep breaths, okay? One...two...in...out…inhale…exhale.”

Declan went along with what he said, holding the egg close and firmer, though not so firm as to risk breaking it. It was a few, long minutes later when Declan finally calmed down.

“You okay now?” LJ asked Declan. He looked almost as scared as Declan did.

“I just...don’t like…” Declan stammered out as he caught his breath. “Dark spaces are fine...but not...when everything’s s-shaking.”

That was what broke Henry. “I’m sorry.” He apologized, staring at the other two boys in guilt.

“Not your fault.” LJ muttered as Declan shrugged on his backpack again.

“It is. I just…” Henry trailed off, unable to hide his shame. He’d broken a promise, and he’d gotten them into this mess.

But...he could still fix it, right?

Henry took a few breaths before saying, “We have to keep going. There’s got to be an exit. Maybe we just missed it.”

There was the sound of something in the distance. Barely audible, but it was there.

“Did you hear that?” Archie asked.

The sound barely echoed again, but this time Henry realized what it was.

“It’s Pongo!” Henry exclaimed, his voice vibrating against the walls of the mine as he recognized the dogs bark.

“What’s a Pongo?” Declan asked.

“My dog.” Archie answered before addressing the boys. “Come on. If we follow the noise, we might find a way out.”

Soon all four of them were racing towards the sound of Pongo’s barking, Declan’s flashlight being their main source of illumination. Eventually they came to a place where the barking was the loudest, and it was covered by a sheet of metal.

“It’s loud. Maybe if I just…” Archie trailed off as he removed the metal sheet. It fell to the ground with a heavy _thunk!_

Now that the metal sheet was no long we obstructing their view, Henry saw that there was a room, no, a space, one that was surrounded by metal like a cube. He asked, “What’s this?”

“It’s like...an old elevator.” Archie replied. “It must’ve been a way for minors to be able to get out without going through the hole mine. It goes all the way to the top. That’s why we can hear Pongo.”

“Do you think it works?” LJ asked hopefully.

“It’s been out of use for a while, but we can try to make it work.” Archie said.

They went into the elevator, and there Archie tried to turn the wheel, but it was difficult. Without needing to be asked, Henry, LJ, and Declan all tried to help Archie turn the wheel, though Declan only used one hand since the other was occupied with holding that egg of his.

Henry briefly wondered if that had something to do with his story, whatever that was.

They were making some headway, and Henry saw that they got about a few inches off from where they started-

There was another shake, one that lightly rocked the elevator. Archie held onto them as, to Henry’s brief terror, the elevator dropped the bit, clutching them as tightly, but it wasn’t enough. In fact, Henry’s terror only increased when the elevator dropped again, this time enough to knock them all off their feet and onto the metal floor of the elevator.

When Henry looked up again, he realized that the elevator had fallen enough to block their way back from where they started, no wiggle room to get it.

As everyone took a chance to collect themselves, Henry picked up the flashlight that Declan must’ve dropped at some point. The light didn’t reach far into the darkness, and the light from topside seemed so far away.

Realizing that they were exhausted and they were stuck there, the others slowly sat down, leaving Henry to stand there staring at what used to be the way into the mines.

“I’m really, really, really sorry.” Henry said again as he sat down as well.

“It’s alright.” Archie told him soothingly.

“I just…” Henry wanted to say _I just wanted to find proof_ , but the presence of the two boys stopped him. If they didn’t make it out, he didn’t want any last thoughts to be _Henry, what a crazy kid._

“Henry, it’s okay.” Archie said. He sounded so understanding that Henry almost believed him.

“I…” Declan started, but he trailed off, seemingly becoming self-conscious.

Henry looked at him expectantly.

Declan looked between him and LJ, who was also intrigued, before he let out a little sigh. “If we’re apologizing for stuff, then…I’m sorry too.”

“For what?” LJ asked.

“I’ve met you guys before.” Declan said. “At the auto shop, on Halloween.”

That’s when it hit both Henry and LJ, especially Henry who suddenly realized that Declan was telling the truth.

“You were the ghost kid!” Henry announced.

Declan nodded.

“Why didn’t you just say so?” LJ asked curiously.

Declan shrugged. “I just...I didn’t know if you still wanted to hang out with me.”

“Which is why you followed them into the mines.” This time it was Archie who spoke.

Declan looked at Archie like he wanted to argue against it, but ultimately he just seemed resigned to agree with Archie’s assessment.

Then Archie spoke again, this time to Henry. “I’m sorry too. Okay, I don't think you're crazy. I just... just think that you’ve got a very strong mother, who's got a clear idea of a path that she wants you to be on. When you step off that, she...she is scared. You know, it's natural. But, it's also natural for you to be able to be free, to think the things that you want to think. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to find out the way did, but I’m even more sorry that I agreed to stifle your mind.”

Archie then looked at the two boys. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ve found two fine young men to be your friends.”

Henry looked at them, wondering if they would be his friends after this.

LJ gave him a chagrined smile. “Yeah, I’m still your friend.” He told Henry. “I mean, who else would I go into a mine with?”

Declan looked a little surprised that Henry gave him his attention. “What he said.” Declan replied, now holding his egg more gently.

Henry believes them. Still, one thing confused Henry. “Why did you do it?” Henry asked Archie.

Archie looked sad. “I guess I'm still not a right person. I'm not the man I wanna be.”

The elevator shook again, and this time it was accompanied by a curse from Declan.

“If we ever get out of this place, it’ll be a miracle.” The kid said through clenched teeth.

 _Or magic,_ Henry thought. _Whichever comes first._

* * *

 

It was not long after they found an elevator shaft, one that would help them rescue Henry and Archie, that Emma spotted Ray pushing his way through the crowd to get to them.

Part of Emma was mildly surprised Ray was able to move past or push away the multitude of people, mainly the workers who had been moving away heavy rubble, with relative ease.

The first words out of Ray’s mouth were “LJ’s missing.”

As soon as she heard that, Emma’s gut clenched. She hoped her gut feeling was wrong.

“I went to check on him in his room, but he wasn’t there.” Ray told them. “I thought that maybe he took a walk, but I couldn’t find him so I called you. No one answered, and when I went to the sheriff’s station no one was there. Someone told me you were here and-”

“I am sorry for your misplaced child.” Regina cut him off. “But we’ve been busy trying to save the lives of my son and Dr. Hopper.”

“Wh-” This time, Ray cut himself off. A dawning look came over his face as he looked at the shaft. “Oh my god.”

Emma grimaced as she watched Ray come to the same conclusion she did.

Graham asked, “Do we know if LJ’s down there with them?”

“It’s possible.” Emma said. “He and Henry seem pretty close.”

“Why would he go down there?” Ray asked.

Emma felt guilty, because she knew exactly why Henry went down there. She had thought that her warning and her extracting a promise from him would be enough. Obviously it hadn’t, and LJ likely got involved because he was just being a friend, another kid who didn’t realize how dangerous the mines were.

“I’m sorry, but who is LJ?” Regina asked, barely sounding sorry at all.

 _That’s right,_ Emma thought. _Regina’s never actually met LJ. And from the looks of it, Henry’s never mentioned him to her._

“He’s Henry’s friend.” Emma said before gesturing to Ray. “This is LJ’s uncle.”

“Henry doesn’t have friends…” Regina trailed off.

“This has all been wonderful,” Killian cut in, “but I’d rather discuss this when everyone who’s stuck in there is topside.”

“What do you think we’re trying to do?” Regina snapped at him with a raised voice.

“Not much from where I’m standing.” Killian shot back with a growl.

Emma stepped between him and Regina and placed a hand on Killian’s chest in an attempt to calm him. Graham in turn stepped between them, adding another barrier to prevent Killian and Regina from going at it.

“Calm down.” Emma quietly told him.

“That’s enough, both of you.” Graham said sternly, seemingly balancing his use nice guy personality with acting as a the sheriff of a town, not wanting to escalate tensions while also showing a strong hand. “Look, we can probably send someone down there via a rope, and rig them with equipment that would help them carry three people. I’ve got the harness, so let’s focus on that.”

“Lower me down.” Regina said.

Emma immediately saw the flaws in that plan. Turning to face them, but keeping a hand pressed against Killian’s chest to keep him there, Emma said, “Oh, no way. I'm going.”

“He’s my son.” Regina argued.

“He’s my son too.” Emma shot back. “Besides, you’ve been sitting behind your desk for ten years.” Sensing Ray’s tension, she turned to him as well, “The same goes for you Ray.” She then told them both, “I can do this.”

Regina didn’t look happy about it, but she must’ve at least seen the logic in Emma’s plan, as she simply said, “Just bring him to me.”

Emma took off her jacket, which Killian took from her, as Graham and Marco began helping her get into a harness. The other workers began to set up a strong, steel band rope that would lower her down.

“Remember,” Graham said as he attached a walkie talkie one of the shoulders of the harness, “when you’ve got a firm hold of them, let us know and we’ll pull you out straight away.”

“Got it.” Emma said as she tightened the straps of the harness around her, double-checking everything to make sure she didn’t end up free-falling down the shaft.  

Ray came over, and he looked more unnerved than she’d seen him. “Emma, I know you know what you’re doing, but when you get LJ please keep a tight grip on him. He fidgets when he’s really nervous, and I know you’re going to want to help Henry first but-”

“Ray.” Emma gently cut him off. “I’m getting all of them out.”

“Of course you will.” Killian said before telling Ray that they should step back.

Emma grimly nodded at him. She was going to get all of them out.

 _Either we’re all escaping,_ Emma thought, _or none of us are._

* * *

 

“Henry?” LJ asked.

“Yeah?” Henry asked in turn.

“As long as we’re down here, I’ve got to know...what exactly were you looking for?” LJ gave him a hard stare. “You wouldn’t have just come down here for no reason. And Archie was talking about…stifling your brain or something?”

Declan looked curious as well, while Archie looked worried.

Henry thought about keeping his answer vague, but that thought was quickly squashed. LJ followed Henry into the mines, as did Declan, and their lives were put in danger because of him. The least he could do was be honest about it. Even if they thought he was crazy - or worse, hated him, as a part of Henry feared they would - they at least deserved to know the truth.

That was the whole point of this. Henry wanted people to know the truth. He knew they wouldn’t just accept it, but at this point, it just felt wrong not to give them some reason for why all this happened.

Henry sucked in a quiet before slowly releasing it, trying to keep his voice steady. “It’s...because of the curse.”

“Henry.” Archie said warningly, though in truth Archie was more worried about Henry potentially alienating these new friends. Worse, he worried about what would happen if word of it spread, and kids would bully Henry at school. That would only do more harm to Henry, or even make him regress further into himself.

“What curse?” LJ asked confusedly.  

Soon, the words spilled out of Henry. He had wanted to keep some things back, but he just couldn’t help himself. Even Archie’s attempts to smooth things out couldn’t stop Henry from spilling all of his beliefs, telling them about his mom, Emma, their teachers, how he didn’t know who they really were. More importantly, he couldn’t stop himself from saying that now that Emma was here, she was meant to break the curse on all of them, and he even detailed how he was different because he was born outside of town, and how he had felt like he’d been losing his mind before realizing the truth. Especially with how his mom just tried to ignore it.

Henry noticed how when he mentioned his mom’s attempts to make him think he’s crazy, as he told them, Declan flinched.

By the time he was done telling them everything, he was out of breath, the only sound that echoed in the shaft for several moments.

Finally, the silence was broken by Declan, whose hands loosely held onto his egg, muttered a semi-stunned “Wow.”

That response made Henry’s heart drop. “I know you think I’m crazy-”

“I definitely think you’re crazy.” Declan said, and let out a soft ‘Ow!’ when LJ thumped him on the arm. “ _But_...that doesn’t mean you’re, you know, bad.”

Somehow Declan looked about as uncomfortable as Henry felt.

“Look, this is-” LJ cut himself off, looking quite confused as he tried to figure out what to say.

Luckily for him, a noise erupted from the top, gravel clattering against the top of the elevator while some of it fell on their heads.

“What’s that?” Henry asked as he brushed little bits of gravel from his hair. He looked up, and saw a light coming towards them.

“I think it’s a rescue.” Archie said, standing up with the rest of them as a smile appeared on his face.

The glare of the light obstructed Henry’s view of what it was, until they were nearly upon them. That’s when a smile appeared on Henry’s face.

“Emma!” Henry called out happily.

“You guys okay?” Emma asked.

“Yes, we’re all okay.” Archie told her.

“Hang on, Henry.” Emma said before she spoke into a walkie-talkie, and a second later she stopped being lowered to them.

Emma removed the roof of the elevator, and that’s when she caught sight of Declan. “How many of you are there?” She asked in surprise.

“It’s just us.” Archie told her.

She paused before saying into her walkie-talkie, “Guys, there’s another kid here.” There was a garbled response before she said, “No, there’s just four now.” Another garbled response that probably only Emma could hear. “Don’t worry. I’ve still got this.” She then held a hand to Henry, “Come on kid, let’s go.”

Archie lifted Henry up, and soon he was being held tightly by Emma as she attached him to her harness.

“I thought I told you to stay out of the mines.” Emma hissed to him as she finished attaching him to her harness. The way she sounded, how she was both angry and sounded like she wanted to _cry_ , made Henry feel like he wanted to cry too.  

“I’m sorry.” Henry muttered, trying to stay strong as he reached for LJ, who was being held up by Archie. Soon LJ was attached too.

“Alright, that’s it, I’ve got you.” Emma said once Henry and LJ were secured.

“Emma, can you-” Whatever Archie was going to say was horribly interrupted by the elevator giving a deep rumble as it shook. Henry wasn’t sure what he was shouting, only that he was and that Emma and LJ were too. He briefly saw Archie grab Declan, who had since put on his backpack after carefully placing that egg of his inside, and _thrust_ him into the air. Henry and LJ scrambled to catch something, and each of them holding tightly onto one of Declan’s arms, neither daring to loosen their grip and risk letting the boy fall into the dark along with the elevator

Henry feared that Archie was down in that shaft...until he saw that Archie’s umbrella was hooked around something connected to Emma’s trousers.

There were only a couple of moments of silence before Declan, who had gone nearly as white as the sheet he wore on Halloween, shouted, “HOLY SHIT!”

That brought out a burst of laughter from all of them, though Emma’s was more labored as she had more people to carry than she thought she would.

* * *

 

What none of them realized at the time was that the 11-year-old’s cursing was so loud, it carried all the way to the top of the shaft, much to the confusion of the rescue party above.

* * *

 

Emma never thought she’d be so glad to be surrounded by a group of people clapping in unison, their presence illuminated only by the light of high-powered flashlights as the dark, night sky hung overhead. If she never saw the inside of that shaft again, it would be too soon. As it was, several hands reached over to grab each of them, being careful not to jostle them too much as they finally, blessedly, all came in contact with solid ground again.

Emma saw Ray reach for and take LJ, berating him for such thoughtless actions while desperately holding onto the now crying 12-year-old. Emma saw some workers help Declan, but he disappeared from sight before she could figure out who exactly he was with. Regina reached for Henry, taking him away as Killian and Graham reached for her.

“Well done, Swan.” Killian said with a relieved smile.

“If for nothing else,” Graham said as he helped her out of the harness, “I think you’ve just proven to everyone that you’re worthy of the badge.”

“Thanks.” She told both of them, a little embarrassed at the praise.

Once she was free of the harness, she managed to extricate herself from them to go check on Henry.

“Are you okay, Henry?” She asked as she looked over him to check for any cuts or bruises, any sign that he wasn’t 100% okay.

Regina shoved her away, blocking Emma’s access to Henry by using her own body to block Emma’s view. “Deputy, you can clear the crowd away.”

“I just want to check on him.” Emma protested, and in her peripheral vision she saw Killian approach.

Regina sent her a glare. “In case you hadn’t noticed, you still have a job to do.”

“And she can’t check on the lad for ten seconds?” Killian argued, standing next to Emma as he stared at Regina in disbelief.

“I’m okay.” Henry said in a voice that clearly showed that he didn’t want things to escalate.

“There, he’s fine.” Regina told them, clearly wanting this to be the end of it. Regina pulled him away, though they didn’t go far. Then, Regina turned to look at someone, who Emma realized was Archie, and she looked torn for a second before telling Henry to stay there, going over to talk to Archie.

Emma scoffed in disbelief. All that effort, and she just leaves. _More to the point,_ she thought, _Henry just escaped from being trapped in the mines for hours, and she just leaves him alone?_

Judging by the look on Killian’s face, he thought the exact same thing.

Both of them then looked at Henry, who stared after Regina, longing for affection. Emma knew this, because she often saw the same look on her own face.

When Emma looked at Killian’s face again, she was a little surprised to see that Killian had that same understanding, empathetic look on his face, like he was thinking the same thing.

Both of them went over to Henry.

“Are you okay, Henry?” Emma asked again.

Henry silently nodded, facing them but avoiding eye contact.

In that action, Emma saw both his longing for affection, and his guilt.

Oh yeah, she hadn’t forgotten their talk from the night before.

Emma bent down to Henry’s eye level. “Henry, look at me, please.”

Reluctantly, Henry met Emma’s eyes.

Emma made sure that her tone left no room for doubt on how serious she was. “You broke your promise.” When Henry opened his mouth to speak, Emma silently held up a hand, which stopped him short. “We warned you about going into the mines. You could’ve _died_ in there, do you not get that?”

Henry hummed out a whimpered, “Mhmm.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, despite the worried anger Emma still felt, she couldn’t help but see how much of a _kid_ he was. Which was the point, and-

 _Man,_ Emma thought, _I did not realize it was possible to feel anger and fear and concern this much at the time._

Killian stepped up, and bent forward to be eye level with Henry as well. He looked more serious than Emma had ever seen him. “Tell me that you understand what you did wrong.” When Henry nodded his head, Killian said, “Henry, say it.”

“I understand.” Henry said in a quiet voice.

Emma couldn’t help it. “Come here.” She said as she reached forward to gently grasp his shoulder, pulling him forward with ease as Henry readily entered her embrace. He hugged her middle, and it was only when she started rubbing his back that he started crying.

Just like in the library the night before, Henry blindly reached for Killian with one hand, and it was only after Emma gave him a nod of approval that Killian hugged Henry as well. This brought him into contact with Emma, and in most circumstances this would’ve been highly distracting.

However, Henry needed her attention more, so she focused on that.

After a while, Henry managed to slow down his crying, and the two of them broke away.

“Feel better?” Emma asked him, feeling like she wanted him back in her arms.

Henry nodded, looking around before his eyes settled on LJ, and something in his stare seemed more disheartened than before. He looked around again, but this time something seemed to confuse him. “Wait a minute, where’s Declan?” Henry suddenly asked.

They looked around, but the kid was nowhere to be found.

“He really is a ghost.” Henry whispered, his eyes still red.

Emma couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the look on his face. “I’m sure you’ll see him again.”

“Maybe not.” Henry said. Probably seeing the similar looks of confusion on her and Killian’s faces, Henry said, “I told them, LJ and Declan, about the curse.”

Emma couldn’t stop a sympathetic look from appearing on her face. Poor kid was probably worried that he wouldn’t have friends anymore.

“What’s going on here?” Regina’s voice interrupted their little revery. Regina cast Emma a glance, and Emma wondered why Regina looked more threatened by her than usual. Regina then looked at Henry’s red eyes. “Henry, have you been crying?” Sending both Emma and Killian hard looks, she looped an arm around Henry’s shoulders. “That’s it. Henry, we’re going home and having a talk. Deputy, I won’t tell you again. Do your job and get this crowd cleared.”

Without another word, Regina pulled herself and Henry away, though not before Henry sent one last wave to Emma and Killian.

Emma didn’t realize she’d raised a hand to wave back until Killian put a comforting arm around her shoulders, one she was too tired to think much about.  

Ray eventually came over, thanking Emma for saving LJ, and soonafter they left, though Emma had the distinct impression that LJ was going to be grounded for a while.

Eventually, Emma and Graham did get the crowd cleared away. She was so exhausted that she barely wanted to drive at all. Killian offered, but she turned him down.

She needed to be alone. It had been a very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now LJ and Declan know more about Henry's belief in the curse, but how will they react after everything's calmed down? 
> 
> Let me know what you thought about Henry having friends, this chapter, or anything else that's on your mind. 
> 
> See you same time next week!


	8. There's Something In the Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we learn if Henry will keep his two new friends, and Emma meets someone from her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who commented or left kudos, and a special thanks to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me editing this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_November 3, 2011_

Henry knew that neither LJ or Delcan were in his grade, so it would make sense for him not to see either of them.

Still, that didn’t make his fears that they never wanted to speak to him again go away.

Henry tried to pay attention in class, but his mind went back to the mines, to revealing his real thoughts about Storybrooke, and how he cried like a baby in Emma and Killian’s arms.

He also remembered his mom taking him home, berating him for doing something so careless, and especially for saying that he hated her. She didn’t let him leave until he told her he loved her, which he did.

He loved his mom. He just didn’t know if he could trust her. 

After that, his mom sent him to bed without dinner. Henry’s stomach rumbled the whole night.

Now though, he’d almost prefer another night without food if it meant that he could just _know_ what LJ and Declan thought, what their final answer on the matter was. They seemed so confused in the shaft, and he hadn’t had a chance to talk to them before Declan disappeared and his mom took him home. He just hoped, _really_ hoped, that they didn’t hate him.

At recess, when all the kids went out to play, and Henry saw the two of them talking together, he just feared that they were talking about how much they hated him.

 _Relax_ , he told himself. _Maybe they’re just talking about...homework?_

...wow...he couldn’t even tell _himself_ a convincing lie.

Then they saw him, they nodded, and they started walking towards him.

 _Keep it together Henry,_ he reminded himself. _Maybe they’re just here to talk-_

 _-about how much they hate you?_ A bad part of his mind told him. 

Just as he was telling that part of his brain to shut up, the two older were standing in front of him.

The next several were awkward. Really awkward. None of them talked first, and they just kind of stood there. 

After a while, LJ finally spoke. “Henry...we’ve been talking about this, and…” LJ trailed off, and Henry felt his heart hammering in his chest, fearing about an upcoming rejection. 

LJ sighed. “Look, it’s really hard to believe in this curse thing, and honestly...neither of us buy it.”

Henry’s shoulders slumped.

“But,” LJ emphasized, causing Henry to hope again. “you’re our friend. It wouldn’t feel fair to just leave you alone like this.”

“Besides,” Declan imputed, “we...kind of need friends, and besides this curse thing, you’re not half bad.”

“Really?” Henry asked with a small smile. 

Both boys smiled back at each other. “Really.” LJ answered for them both. “I mean this whole thing is, again, kind of weird, but, uh, we’ve been kind of wondering-" 

“Who do you think we are?” Declan interrupted, and LJ sent him a raised eyebrow, apparently annoyed at being interrupted. “Do we have powers? Are we warlocks or something?”

Henry was stunned that they were actually asking about this, and he realized that they weren’t making fun of him. “I-I’m not sure.” He unintentionally stammered before collecting himself. “I still need to find more proof, but I think I know who some people are.”

Both LJ and Declan looked curious.

“Like who?” Declan inquired, and all three of them gravitated towards a nearby bench. Declan sat at the end of a bench, LJ took the spot next to him, and Henry took the spot next to LJ.

“Um...I’m thinking, oh, remember Ashley?” Henry asked, even though LJ nodded, Declan didn’t, so Henry and LJ briefly explained who Ashley was. “Well, I think she’s Cinderella." 

“Really?” LJ asked at the same time Declan asked, “How come?”

Henry then explained how Ashley had a stepmom, two stepsisters, worked as a maid, and how in his storybook, Cinderella was pregnant when her husband was kidnapped by Rumplestiltskin, who wanted her baby, just like Mr. Gold wanted Ashley’s baby.

“You think Mr. Gold is Rumplestiltskin?” LJ asked curiously.

 Henry shrugged. “Probably. I mean he makes deals with everyone.”

“Plus the guy’s really creepy.” Declan frowned. 

“There’s also Miss Blanchard.” Henry spilled, too excited to stop himself. “She has to be Snow White.”

“Because...she wears white?” Declan shrugged. “Actually I don’t know who this lady is.”

“She’s my teacher, and my grandma.” Henry said, causing Declan to squint his eyes and tilt his head. 

“She’s...your mom’s mom, even though they’re the same age?” LJ tried to guess.

“It’s because the curse stopped time here.” Henry said. “I’m the only one that gets older because I was born outside of town, after the curse was cast.”

“How come your mom isn’t cursed?” LJ asked.

“Because her parents sent her to this world.” Henry answered. “She’s the Savior, so she’s destined to break the curse." 

“Does she know the curse is real?” Declan asked skeptically.

“No…” Henry said. “but that’s what I’m trying to do. It’s why I went into the mines. I figured that if I found some proof, it would help her believe. She’s kind of a skeptic.”

“So until your mom really believes in it, and you figure out who people are, the curse stays intact.” LJ guessed again.

“Exactly.” Henry said. He knew they didn’t believe him, but it was still nice to be able to talk about the curse without someone automatically trying to dismiss it.

“That sucks.” Declan muttered.

“Yeah.” Henry admitted. “But that’s why I can’t give up. I have to keep trying, because...who else will?”

To that, neither boys had a retort. It wasn’t until Declan asked about where his book was that the conversation got going again, at least until the bell rang again, signaling for them to get back to class.

“So, when can we look at this book?” Declan asked.

“What?” Henry asked in surprise. “You really want to see it?”

“Yeah.” LJ nodded. “It’d be kind of fun figuring out who everyone is.” 

Henry knew they didn’t believe, he knew, but that didn’t stop his heart from welling in excitement. “You really want to?" 

Both of them nodded.

Henry couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, I’ll bring it tomorrow, for recess. And, if you want, we could play at my castle. It’s at a playground a little away from the main part of town, but it’s by the water and it’s really cool. Ooh, you want to be part of Operation Cobra?”

Both of them said yes.

As they walked to their classes, LJ asked, “It’s kind of sad that we can’t do this on the weekend with more time.”

“Why not?” Declan asked.

“I’m grounded.” Henry and LJ ended up saying at the same time. 

“You could try sneaking out.” Declan suggested.

“I live on the third floor of my building.” LJ said. 

“Yeah, and my mom’s still really mad at me for yesterday.” Henry said.

LJ bit his lip. “Maybe...we could ask to go.” At Henry’s skeptical look, he said, “Hey, we might as well at least _try_ to ask. If my uncle catches me sneaking out again, I might never be un-grounded." 

Henry said, “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try. I’ll ask my mom.”

Henry didn’t say which mom he’d ask though.

Declan shrugged. “My parents won’t care.”

They eventually parted ways to class, and Henry, despite knowing the obstacles ahead, and knowing they didn’t believe, was still happy that they decided he was worth having as a friend.

* * *

As expected, Henry and LJ faced some resistance. It took some pleading, some attempts at bargaining, and some promises to do better in the future (or in Henry’s case, never break a promise again), and never, ever go to the mines again before their respective guardians (okay, LJ’s guardian and Emma) for the adults to agree to let the three of them hang out together on Sunday.

All things considered, it wasn’t a bad outcome.

* * *

  _November 6, 2011_

Sundays, to Henry, used to be the most boring day of the week. All that happened was that he’d walk about town, maybe read something, and go home for meals. The library was closed on Sundays, so he couldn’t even hang out with Killian or Dada.

This Sunday, however, found Henry playing with kids his age for the first time in a while. 

“Have at thee!” Declan said dramatically as he jumped off the castle, trying to tackle Henry, which he spectacularly failed at. Declan made an “Oomph!” sound as he landed on the ground, but then rolled on his back to laugh along with Henry and LJ.

“Hey, be careful, will ya?” Emma called out to them from where she sat next to Killian, the two of them watching the three boys play.

“Sorry.” Henry said, still laughing.

Emma smiled at him, which just made Henry smile more.

He felt a hand touch his leg. “Tag, you’re it!” Declan shouted as he quickly got up, and he and LJ ran around the castle to keep distance from Henry.

“Hey, no fair, I wasn’t looking!” Henry shouted at them as he chased after the boys, climbing around the castle or running around it as he tried to catch up to one of them.

“So, you really- crap!” Declan shouted as Henry nearly got him. “You really think that the guy from the hospital is Prince Charming?”

“Yeah.” Henry replied, still keeping chase. “He’s got to be. He even has the scar.”

“Lots of people have scars!” Declan countered as he ducked under Henry’s arms, though groaned as he felt Henry tag him.

“Besides, if he was married to that lady Agatha-" 

“Abigail!” Henry corrected as he ran away from Declan.

“Sure.” LJ said, running when Declan decided to go after him. “It’d be pretty weird if he was married to that Abigail woman now.”

“Which is the point!” Henry shouted, suddenly running to keep away from Declan. “He’s not supposed to be, so that’s why my mom did it.” 

“I thought your mom was the Savior.” Declan countered.

“No, that’s his blonde mom.” LJ corrected him as he tried to avoid Declan. “His brunette mom is the Evil Queen.”

“Ah, got- shit!” Declan cursed as he missed LJ again.

“What did we say about cursing?” Killian called over to them.

Declan didn’t look the least bit ashamed.

“Okay, everyone, time to take a break.” Emma said, and Henry agreed. He was pretty tired.

Declan poked him on the shoulder. “Tag.” He said tiredly.

“Doesn’t count.” Henry countered.

Declan just shrugged with a smirk.

“Um, Emma?” Henry asked.

“Uh huh?” Emma responded.

“Can we get ice cream, please?” Henry said, trying to not make it too obvious that he was trying to use puppy eyes.

Emma had a look on her face, the one that showed that she clearly knew what he was trying to do. Still, she said, “Yeah, I guess. Do you two want ice cream?” She asked LJ and Declan. 

Of course, they agreed.

Soon enough, the five of them were walking to the library.

As they did so, Emma and Killian made sure they walked closely enough to the kids so that they could keep them in their sights, but far enough that they could talk without being overheard.

“Henry seems to be improving.” Killian commented. 

“Mhmm.” Emma told him. “I hope that having friends will help him get over this curse.”

“Unless I heard wrong, it seems it’s having the opposite effect.” Killian replied.

Emma frowned. So she hadn’t just been mishearing it. “You don’t think they’re just stringing him along, do you?”

Killian gave the boys a thoughtful look before concluding, “I don’t believe so.” He finally said. “Besides, if they are, there’s always a secret basement under the library-”

Killian chuckled as Emma nudged him on the arm. “Come on.”

“No, I mean it. There is a basement under the library.” Killian chuckled, knowing that wasn’t remotely the point, but he seemed to take pleasure in making Emma smile at his silliness. “Though I haven’t the faintest idea how to get in. The elevator’s been broken for years.” 

That was when they all came around the ice cream shop. After getting everyone’s suggestions, Emma decided to go in alone, figuring that it’d be easier to be in and out of the ice cream shop if there weren’t three sugar hungry kids clambering around her.

“We promise not to die.” Declan, who Emma realized was an absolute smartass, joked, earning a side eye from Killian. 

Emma opened the door and entered the shop. “Still open?” She asked the blond lady behind the counter, whose back was turned to her. “I need a few cones for my...son.” Emma stammered over the words, wondering if this was the first time she’d actually said the word ‘son’ out loud in reference to Henry. “My son and his friends.” She continued. “He loves this place.”

He barely contain himself on the way over.

The woman turned to face Emma and-

 _Holy shit._ Were the first words in Emma’s mind. Unable to do anything but stare at the woman, Emma couldn’t believe what she was seeing. _Who_ she was seeing. God, she didn’t look like she aged a day.

“Ingrid?” Emma asked in surprise, staring in barely subdued horror at the woman who was the final push a 16-year-old Emma needed to give up on ever being adopted. The reason she decided to go on the run rather than risk heartache with another family. The reason she met-

No, it was better to avoid thinking about him, especially since another person from her past was standing right in front of her. 

“Emma.” Ingrid replied, sounding almost _happy_ to see her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Emma asked. How did Ingrid find her? Did she follow her? There was no way this could be a coincidence. Emma hadn’t thought of Ingrid in years, and not for a lack of trying. She’d tried putting her and Ingrid’s belief in magic out of her mind.

In hindsight, she realized that this probably added another reason why Emma wanted Henry to give up on the curse as soon as possible.

Ingrid began to step around the counter and towards Emma, and Emma tried to keep out of reaching distance. “Ever since you came to Storybrooke, I’ve been waiting for you to come into my shop.” Ingrid said in an anxious yet hopeful voice. “I wanted to give you your space, let you come to me.”

“My space?” Emma asked incredulously. “Are you out of your mind? Are you following me?”

“There are so many things that I wanted to tell you.” Ingrid deflected in that same breathy voice of hers she’d had when Emma was a kid. “There are so many things that I wanted to say. And now look at you. You’re all grown up!”

Ingrid had the nerve to sound _proud_ of her, but then when she tried to touch Emma’s hair, Emma held a hand up to block her, and reared back. “Don’t touch me!” She ordered, barely able to contain how much being in the same space as the woman who tried to commit some misguided murder-suicide with Emma shook her. 

“This makes no sense.” Emma said, her mind still reeling at the fact that Ingrid barely looked older than Emma was. “You don’t look a day older than the last time I saw you. That was over ten years ago.” 

“After you ran away, I came to Storybrooke to wait for you.” Ingrid calmly explained. “People here don’t age here in the way that they do in a land without magic.”

 _Did she know about Henry’s book?_ , Emma thought. _She had to. It’s the only explanation._

“The Apprentice was right.” Ingrid continued, still stuck in her own little world. “He said that you would be here on your 28th birthday, and…” Ingrid looked so happy about that. “Here you are.”

“The Apprentice?” Emma asked skeptically. That was a new one, though she wouldn’t put it past Ingrid for it to have been a product of her own delusions that was enforced by her probably knowing of Henry’s beliefs. “Magic? You’ve gotten worse since I ran away.”

“I’m not crazy Emma.” Ingrid told her sternly. “You know that this place is special. You know that _you’re_ special. Everything that Henry is telling is true.”

“ _Do not_ bring him into this.” Emma warned her. 

“You have an amazing mind, Emma.” Ingrid said. “That’s how I know that you must have sensed something was strange about this place. You must know, deep down, that some things just don’t make sense for the explanation given to them.”

“I know you screwed up my life!” Emma burst out, the resentment she’d pushed down, the one from when she was sixteen and trying to move on from the life she’d left behind, suddenly bubbled up. “You’re crazy!” Emma ignored the hurt look on Ingrid’s face, and that irritating voice in the back of her mind that brought the hurt look on Henry’s face when she’d accidentally revealed in Regina’s house that she thought he was troubled. “Crazy then, crazy now. You tried to kill me!”

Emma grabbed the handcuffs that were attached to her belt. “Turn around.” She ordered.

“Why?” Ingrid asked.

“Why do you think?” Emma asked in exasperation. “You tried to kill me when I was a teenager, now turn around.”

“No, not before you see this.” Ingrid said, pulling out a little string bag, one that fit in the palm of her hand, from her apron.

“Oh great, I can’t wait to learn what this is.” Emma said sardonically as Ingrid opened it.

“It was one of the first spells I ever learned from my teacher.” Ingrid said. “Mama Odie taught me everything she knew, in spite of the differences in our power elements.” Ingrid pinched something inside the bag. “It’s amazing what crushed plum seeds and a little magic from my world can do.”

Emma opened her mouth to make a retort, but-

“Oh, you okay?” A woman asked as she helped keep Emma upright.

Emma looked around the shop, trying to think of something, but… “What happened?” She asked the blonde woman in front of her.

“You slipped, you almost fell.” She said concernedly. “Did you still want that ice cream?" 

“Yeah.” Emma said as she listed out the flavors she needed, trying to remember something, but she couldn’t remember what.

“You want some Rocky Road?” The kindly woman asked her, and Emma couldn’t help but smile at the offer. “On the house. You could use it.”

The woman then grabbed a sample spoon, scooped up a little of the Rocky Road, then offered the spoon to Emma. “Have a taste.”

Not one to turn down her favorite ice cream, Emma accepted it. The second she put it in her mouth, she felt her shoulders involuntarily relax at the rich and delicious flavor. “Now that is Rocky Road. It’s delicious.” Emma said with her mouth full, wondering if she could grow a third arm to carry that a pint with her.

The woman gave a little laugh. “Want to know my secret? Lot of patience. Lot of love.”

Emma nodded as she prepared to pay for the ice cream, but the woman just reiterated that all of the ice cream was on the house. Emma then carefully maneuvered her arms to grab all of the ice cream. “Thanks.”

“You sure you don’t need help?” The woman offered. 

“I’ve got it.” Emma said. 

“At least let me open the door for you.” She smiled, already speed walking to get to the door first.

“That...would be helpful.” Emma admitted, and she gave the woman another thank you before saying a quick goodbye, hearing the door close behind her.

Not long after, the kids spotted her, and raced towards the ice cream.

“Save the ice cream!” Declan proclaimed.

“Oh gee, thanks.” Emma snarked, and soon all of the cones were out of her hands and into the ones belonging to three kids who were beginning to devour the ice cream.

“How about we find a place to sit down?” Killian suggested. “And don’t eat it so fast, or-” 

His warning was ill-timed, as the three boys already were clutching their heads.

Even as Emma and Killian shared a look, the boys continued eating their ice cream on the way to find a place to sit, though they were more cautious now.

At least a little bit.

Whatever it was that Emma was trying to remember, it was well out of her head now.

* * *

Graham knew he was sitting in Sabine’s Place, the only restaurant in town with a southern cuisine. He knew that he was sitting in front of Nancy, both waiting for their food to come.

He _didn’t_ know what the hell he was supposed to say. Why was he so nervous? It wasn’t like this was a date.

 _Even though you want it to be,_ a traitorous part of Graham’s voice thought.

Thankfully, Nancy seemed to know how to make the first move. “So, how have things been going?” She asked, slightly fidgeting in her seat.

“They’ve been going well.” Graham replied, eager to get the conversation going. “Things have been relatively quiet since the mines were declared a safety hazard.” 

“Finally.” Nancy said. “How’s Henry been doing?”

“From what I hear, Henry’s gained two new friends from the ordeal.” Graham said. He was genuinely glad that Henry had some friends now. He’d been so lonely for a while, so it made Graham feel better about the boy whenever he would see them walk together to the library, laughing or talking with each other.

“That’s good.” Nancy smiled. 

“How about you?” Graham asked. “Anything new?”

Nancy’s smile became more wiry. “Just that Fernando’s strangely adept at figuring out where I keep hiding his Halloween candy.”

Graham chuckled a bit. “Living up to the Robin Hood costume, is he?”

“Mhmm.” Nancy said. “Except the only place that candy would end up is his stomach.”

The food came then, and their conversation continued, but not without brief - okay not that brief - interludes of eating the food, which was delicious. 

“Oi!” Graham protested with a laugh, using his fork to block Nancy’s fork as she jokingly tried to steal something from his place. He then ate the item in mock spite, causing Nancy to laugh, and Graham to give a closed-mouth smile as he chewed the food.

“How’s our new deputy?” Nancy asked as she enjoyed her food.

“She’s working out quite well, as the mine incident would tell you.” Graham answered. “Right now she’s looking after Henry and his new friends.” 

Nancy smiled warmly. “And you? How does it feel having help wrangling this town?”

Graham thought about it for a moment. “Honestly, it’s a relief. The job wasn’t stressful before Emma came to town, but it was always...boring, lonely, I’m not really sure. It’s just nice to be able to take time off or just to have a friend at the office to keep my mind from going round in circles.”

Nancy nodded. “I know. Sometimes I feel like the workload Regina gives me would be easier if I had someone to talk to.” 

At the mention of Regina, a wave of guilt washed over Graham. _This wasn’t a date_ , he told himself, no matter how much he wanted it to be. That was the thought that made him feel the most guilty. Whatever it was he had with Regina...Graham knew he didn’t feel anything out of it. He _felt_ something with Nancy, and even if Nancy didn’t feel the same thing for him, he still felt like he was lying to her.

Besides, what if she _did_ feel the same way? If so, could he give up Regina? He knew that there was really nothing there, but every time he even thought about it, there would be something, some part of his mind that would make him realize that it was just better for him to stay with Regina, though better for whom was another question. 

Suddenly the delicious food tasted sour.

Nancy then took on a look of concern. “Is everything okay?”

Graham wanted to reassure her that it was, but he couldn’t force himself to verbalize a lie, so he sufficed with a silent nod.

Nancy didn’t seem entirely convinced, but didn’t push it nonetheless. 

Graham was grateful for that at least. He hated feeling like such a liar. Especially when it come to Nancy. She was such a kind woman.

Almost as if to prove it, Nancy then lifted up her drink. “A toast then?”

Graham couldn’t help but smile a little as he lifted up his own drink. “For what?”

“To your new deputy, and an end to your boredom.” Nancy replied cheekily.

This time, Graham allowed a grin to come across his face. “I’ll drink to that.”

The two of them then clinked their drinks together, then as Nancy and Graham were both taking a sip, he couldn’t help but wink at her. Maybe he shouldn’t have done it, as Nancy choked on her drink. 

“Are you alright?” Graham asked as Nancy coughed a few times.

“I’m fine.” Nancy said. “Just swallowed with the wrong pipe.” She had spilled some of her drink on the table in the her little fit of coughing, and she was looking around for a new napkin to use, so Graham decided to give her his. “Thank you-” Nancy cut herself off, because when she was taking the napkin from Graham, then fingers lightly touched, and a little shiver went through both of them, though they quickly recovered by focusing on cleaning up the mess. 

The rest of the lunch went off without any further trouble, and all the while Graham would occasionally touch the spot where Nancy had touched him, wondering that if this is what it’s like with a light touch, imagine what holding her hand must feel like.

Graham thought that it was possibly unlikely, but hey a man can dream.

* * *

Despite the handful of brain freezes the boys endured, Killian watched as they ravenously finished off the last of their ice cream before they decided that they wanted to go to the library. Well, Henry wanted to go to the library, and the other two boys followed along.

After helping Henry bring out a chalkboard from the back, Killian and Emma sat back and watched as Henry began to explain the numerous plot points that were apparently in his storybook.

“Teacher!” Declan joked, raising one hand in the air while his head rested on the other. Killian rolled his eyes a little at the boy’s cheek, earning a smirk and a nudge from Emma. “Who is Rumplestiltskin?”

“Working theory is that it’s Mr. Gold.” Henry answered with a quartet chalk stick in hand.

“Makes sense.” LJ commented. “Who else in town is that obsessed with deals?”

“Exactly. That’s why he was so interested in Ashley- _Ella’s_ baby.” Henry stumbled, correcting the name as he went.

“And why he owns the whole town.” Declan continued, his tone clearly indicating that he wasn’t taking it as seriously as Henry, but was willing to play along. “Which only happened because your mom is evil.”

“Evil Queen, but yes.” Henry corrected.

“Have you figured out who anybody else is?” LJ asked. 

Henry then began writing more names on the board. “Well I know who I am. There’s my mom.” Henry pointed to his mother, who seemed a mite uncomfortable to have been brought up, before writing additional names on the board in what Killian realized was a family tree. “I know for sure that Miss Blanchard is Snow White, and John Doe is Prince Charming.”

“Also- uh, do you mind?” LJ asked, standing up to approach Henry before gesturing for the chalk stick. Once Henry handed it over, LJ wrote names on the board as well. “Also, Ashley is supposed to be Cinderella, which would make Sean Prince Thomas and Sean’s dad the king.”

“Mhmm.” Henry concurred, just looking happy that LJ, while also not taking it as seriously as Henry, was willing to play along.

That’s when Declan joined them at the born, asking for then taking the chalk stick as well before writing his, LJ’s, and Killian’s names on the board. “I’m interested in figuring out who _we’re_ supposed to be.” He said before adding a question mark to each of their names. He then turned to Killian. “So who are you?”

“Haven’t the faintest idea.” Killian replied.

“Maybe you’re a prince.” LJ suggested with a shrug. 

Killian scoffed at the idea. "I don't have the background for royalty, I assure you." 

“And Ashley’s a maid, but she might be princess, so…” LJ trailed off teasingly, not-so-discretely receiving an around the back high-five from Declan. 

“Wait, isn’t your mom a princess too?” Declan asked Henry.

“Well, yeah, her parents are a king and queen.” Henry said like it was obvious. 

Declan started, “So if Killian is a prince, and Emma is a princess, then-”

“Okay, I think that’s enough.” Emma interrupted as color crept upon her cheeks, likely matching Killian’s look as they both realized the implications of what Declan, the cheeky little bastard, was saying.

Killian swallowed. "Yes, uh, we were talking about _other_ people's identities. I think we're all clear on who Swan and I are."

Declan stared at him blankly as he said, “ _You’re_ still an unknown, princey.”

Killian’s nostrils began to flare when Henry jumped in, “He has a point though. There are still a lot of people in the book I don’t know about, and they could be helping the Evil Queen without realizing it. The sooner we figure out who they out, the easier it’ll be to see who we can trust.” 

Declan, who clearly saw Henry’s diversion tactic for what it was, simply shrugged. “Alright, time to go with...Operation Mole?”

Henry’s face quickly went from a brief second of astonishment to a shy yet happy grin. “You named an operation?”

Declan shrugged, now a little shy too. “Well, yeah, you name things, so I figured I could too.”

“Yeah, definitely.” Henry replied. “I might’ve gone with something else to make it extra secret, but Operation Mole works.”

LJ, who retained possession of the chalk stick, piped up, “Let’s sniff out some moles then.” The boys then began to chat fervently again as they discussed who might be in league with the Evil Queen.

Killian let out a grateful sigh that the boys were focused on something else. He noticed that Emma was relieved as well.

“Henry’s new friends are certainly interesting.” Killian commented.

“Yeah.” Emma replied. “And at least they're taking this curse thing pretty well.”

Killian sensed that she was nervous. Perhaps the boys' implications had touched a nerve. “You know they were just fooling around? They’re likely just excited about the prospect of assigning people fairy tale roles. 

“I got that.” Emma responded, though her tone remained unsure. Emma took a glance at him, and after she saw a reassuring look on Killian’s face, she continued, “I’m not a princess. Henry’s got it in his head that I am, but I’m not. I’m not a princess, or a Savior. He’s…” Emma trailed off, not able to admit out that she didn’t believe she could ever live up to the expectations Henry had of her, fearful of how he’d react once he realized she wasn’t as good as he thought she was.

Killian took her hand in his, hoping to reassure her.

Emma was surprised at the gesture, and waited to see if he’d let go, to see if this contact - which lit up the nerves in her skin - would remain brief. When she saw that he intended to hold on, though with gentleness that left the option of her pulling away open, she adjusted her hand so that it rested more comfortable in his. 

She was actually holding hands with Killian, in public. She tried to recall if she’d done this before, but her attempts at recollection were halted by the present, by the fact that he was holding her hand in public _right now_. She brought her gaze up to his face, and found his blue eyes alight with quiet mirth as a smile quirked on his lips, bringing about one of her own.

Her heart beat picked up it's pace. She was about to say something, anything to try to bring them back to their senses so that she didn’t end up gawking at him like a schoolgirl, when she heard suspicious whispering by the blackboard. Turning her head just a smidge, she caught the boys staring at her and Killian, whispering to each other conspiratorial. Once they realized that she’d made them, they immediately and awkwardly turned face first towards the blackboard like nothing happened.

Emma hadn’t even realized that she’d taken her hand out of Killian’s until she turned back to look at him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Emma crossed one leg over the other and placed her hands on her lap.

Killian felt the loss of Emma’s hand from his, and he felt the urge to hold it again, but realizing that Emma felt embarrassed by the boys’ eavesdropping, he didn’t want to test it. So he contented himself by watching the boys fumble into what they probably thought was a convincing cover to their eavesdropping.

For Henry’s part, as he and his friends began easing into their identification of potential moles for his mom - Sidney Glass being a sure bet - another thought began to form in his head. Emma and Killian had been holding hands. Furthermore, ever since he met her, he hasn’t seen her give anyone the type of look she was giving Killian. She looked...happy, but not in the way she looked when she was with Henry.

It was different. Could she be in love with Killian?

If so, then Killian could be in love with her, since he was giving her the same look she was giving him.

He liked Killian, and Emma was his mom. If they liked each other, then they should be together. It wouldn’t be easy, though. Both Emma and Killian seemed a little hardpressed to admit that there was something there, but hey. If Henry could eventually manage to convince Emma that the curse was real, then he could get those two to go out on at least one date. 

As he watched LJ and Declan fight over the chalk stick, Henry thought over some operation names. 

Hmm, Operation Bluebird had a nice ring to it.

* * *

As David sat in his hospital bed, he kept replaying Mary Margaret’s last visit. Granted, that visit was somewhat soured by the fact that in another part of town three kids and a therapist nearly died in a mining accident, and they only found out after the fact. David’s uselessness - brought on by the fact that he had been in a coma for a long time - brought him great ire. For some reason, he felt bad about not being able to help, knowing that he was confined to his hospital bed while innocents were in danger.

Mary Margaret, when he admitted this to her on her last visit, had assured him that he shouldn’t blame himself, and that everyone was fine.

David smiled, wondering why just recalling sound of Mary Margaret’s voice made him feel happy. Did he know her before he lost his memory? No, Mary Margaret told him that they’d never met before he was a John Doe at the hospital, meanwhile Kathryn-

Right. Kathryn. His _wife_. The wife that he couldn't remember, who came along with a life that he couldn't remember.

It frustrated David to no end that he couldn’t remember anything. He couldn’t even remember his name, and hated that he just had to trust everyone when they said that his name was David Nolan. 

He carefully got up from his bed, his body still weak from such a long period without use, and went to a mirror on a nearby wall. There, he looked at himself. He could see that he was a white male with blonde hair and blue eyes, a strong jaw and chin, and that he was tall, but that’s all he could really glean of who he was. Kathryn told him stories of who he was supposed to be - an apparent shut-in that hardly talked to anyone that wasn’t her, that was until their marital problems caused him to leave, and mysteriously ending up in a coma. 

No could even say for sure what it was that led to his coma; only that whatever it was passed now, though it took David’s memories with it.

David Nolan felt like someone else. That man felt like another life that wasn’t his. It didn’t mean anything to him, but he couldn’t tell anyone that. For one, it would break Kathryn’s heart, especially since she seemed so consumed by guilt over their alleged fight, and the fact that she never reported him missing. For another, everyone looked so hopeful that he’d go back to his old self, even if most of them had no idea who that was supposed to be.

And then there was Mary Margaret. The kind schoolteacher who had watched over him as a hospital volunteer, the woman who had found him when he nearly died in the woods. When he opened his eyes, shivering from the water and cold weather, he saw her face above his, her warm hands on his chilled cheeks. He didn’t remember what he had said to her, but he remembered feeling _relieved_ at seeing her. Everytime she visited him afterwards, it felt like something was real. It felt like he wasn’t just drifting along, hoping he was living up to whatever expectations people had for him.

But now she’s stopped coming. He knew that it was because of Kathryn, though Mary Margaret was too kind to say. He knew that there was something between them, something that just felt like, that felt like home. Okay, maybe that was a little much considering that his own name felt distant from him, but it was true nonetheless. He could laugh with Mary Margaret without it feeling like an expectation, a way to relieve someone of the awkwardness of his feeling out of place. He couldn’t even connect to Kathryn like that, and maybe Mary Margaret sensed that too.

Mary Margaret was a kind woman, and if David was right, she might be staying away in order to prevent anything further from going on. 

David sighed, then went back to bed after feeling a little woozy. Once he recovered, he was going to seek out Mary Margaret again. As for Kathryn, he didn’t know.

All he knew was that he felt something real with one person in this town, and it wasn’t with his wife.

* * *

“Ah, that meal was amazing.” Nancy gushed as she and Graham walked through some nearby woods.

Graham smiled at Nancy, feeling at ease as they casually walked in the woods, smelling the clear air of the forest, happy at how physically close he was to Nancy as they walked side-by-side. Truth be told, the meal was great, but he’d enjoyed being around Nancy more. 

"It certainly was." Graham said. "I think the company was the reason, though."

Nancy looked at him, a small smile forming on her face before she quickly recovered with coy smile and a quip. “Graham, are you trying to flirt with me?”

Graham, ready to play this game, said with a confident smirk of his own, “If I were, am I succeeding?”

Nancy blushed. "Perhaps."

Graham swallowed, suddenly all too aware of how close they were to each other.

Nancy, suddenly feeling playful enough to take a chance, sped up her pace so that she was ahead of Graham before turning to face him, walking backwards as she said, “How about this? If you manage to catch me, you get to decide where we go next,”

“Next time?” Graham asked intrigued, his body readying itself for a chase, aware that he was smiling. “Are you certain?”

Nancy sent him a challenging look. “Well, you’ll just have to see.” Nancy turned around to walk forward again, sparing a glance back as she sped up more, only going into a full run when Graham began to chase after her.

Graham broke out into a run, a stupid, wide grin on his face.

Nancy couldn’t stop giggling, even as she tried sucking in every breath she could as she zigzagged, ran, and did just about anything to try to remain out of Graham’s reach. She was a grown ass woman and a mom, but she soon enough found it impossible to suppress the glee she felt with Graham chasing her. 

Graham was gaining on Nancy, she was nearly within his reach, and then she changed tactics by quickly turning around and diving under his outstretched arm. Nancy tried to regain her step to run again, but she failed to find solid footing, and began to fall backwards. Graham ended up tripping over his own feet to catch her, and the two fell to the ground.

“Nancy, are you al-” Graham cut himself off once he realized that he was on top of her, and even lifting himself up on his arms didn’t distract him from the fact that his face was inches away from Nancy’s, that her lips were so close to his.

Nancy looked up at Graham, her brown eyes meeting his brown eyes, and for a moment she was dumbstruck. She was lying on her back, the dirty of the forest floor probably clinging to her clothes, but that was the furthest thing from her mind. Right now, Graham was so close to her, so close that she could touch her. Her eyes went to his lips, and her heart began to thump harder and louder in her chest as she began to realize what she really wanted to do. 

“Nan-” Graham started before Nancy lifted her head up to peck him on the lips. It was brief, and their skin barely connected, but it still left Graham feeling like an electric current had just shot through his body, and his breath shuddered when Nancy lowered her head back down to the earth. 

Nancy began to panic. Why did she do that? Oh god, she went too far didn’t she? Now this was going to be awkward. “I’m sorry.” Nancy began to apologize. “Was that-”

Nancy was cut off when Graham gave her a brief kiss as well. It lasted only a second longer than hers had, but this one well and truly shut her up. 

He pulled away, his eyes full of worry and hope.

Nancy cupped his face and pulled his lips back to hers.

Even though Graham felt his arms began to strain from keeping himself off Nancy, he powered through it, because there was no chance of him being the one to break off their kissing. With every touch of skin, with every caress of her lips against his, he felt happy. He felt like for the first time in so long, he was truly connecting with somebody. Of course there was Fernando and Henry and Emma, but this was so different, so unexpected. He didn’t know if he could feel this way about something until now.

And as Nancy took one hand off his face, only to use it to wrap around his waist and pull him against her so that their fronts where touching, Graham felt _alive_.

Finally, after both Graham and Nancy began to feel their lungs burning, they pulled apart, though both felt like they could never kiss each other enough. They simply looked at each other, remembering to breathe again as they blissfully took in what just happened.

“So...that happened.” Nancy breathlessly stated.

“That it did.” Graham replied with a dumb smile. That’s when he remembered that he was still on top of Nancy, and quickly got off her, helping her up with mumbled apologies.

Nancy smiled at the adorably dorky display. She then turned around to show her back to him. “Do I have any dirt on me?” After Graham confirmed that she did, she asked him to wipe off the dirt where he saw it, and Graham obliged.

As he did so, Graham belatedly realized that this was maybe the first time he’d kissed someone and really felt happy about it afterwards. The only other time he’d kissed someone was-

 _Shit_. He thought, his gut dropping as he remembered Regina. She would be furious if she found out what he’d just done with Nancy. He didn’t care about what happened to him. He was worried about Regina taking it out on Nancy. She could never know. Oh god, what would Nancy think of him if she knew? If she learned that sometimes he became overwhelmed by an overpowering feeling of self-disgust and self-loathing, that Regina touching him felt like maggots crawling under his skin, but he couldn’t tell her no. He wanted to stop but-

“Graham, what is it?” Nancy asked, her back still towards him, and it was only then that Graham realized he’d stop brushing the dirt off her back. “Did you get it all off?”

“Oh, sorry.” Graham apologized, wiping the rest of the dirt off Nancy’s back. “There, fixed it. I got a little lost in thought for a bit.”

Nancy turned around with a smirk. “Thinking about me?”

Graham, despite how disgusted he’d felt with himself, couldn’t help but smile. “Definitely am.” He was certainly thinking of her now, and the relief of Nancy on his mind felt like a balm to a bad wound.

“So...I was thinking that maybe you’d like to do this next week?” Nancy asked hopefully.

Graham was seconds away from saying yes, but a thought occurred to him. He wanted to have this with Nancy again. To go on a date with her. To be with her. However, he knew there was one major obstacle in their way, and he’d need to clear it before they could go further.

Finally, he told her, “I’ll check my schedule.” When he saw the somewhat unsure look on her face, he amended, “But, I do believe there’s a good chance of a repeat.”

He smiled at the happy look on her face. “To be confirmed, then.” Nancy said, and the two of them walked back to the main road, where Graham planned on driving her back home.

After that, his next stop would be at Regina’s house. He just hoped that when he broke up with her, Emma wouldn’t have to be called to the scene of a murder.

* * *

Regina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’m sorry. I think I misunderstood. What did you say?”

Graham looked afraid of her - good - but he straightened his back and said, “It’s over, Regina. I’m done.”

Regina's fist involuntarily clenched. "Excuse me?"

Graham seemed to get a bit frustrated with her. He took in a small, shuddering breath before releasing it. “Regina, I don’t want to be with you anymore.”

Regina took on a simpering tone. “Graham, we’re not-”

“Together? In an emotional way? On that, we can agree.” Graham replied, and a dark anger burned in Regina’s chest. “I meant the...physical stuff. I’m done. I don’t want you to contact me in that way. It’s better if we maintain a strictly professional relationship.”

Regina, despite the rage that was beginning to pump through her, decided to try a calm approach. “Graham, you’re not thinking straight." 

“Yes, I am.” Graham protested.

“Graham.” Regina whispered as she gently grabbed the lapels of his jacket, ignoring the way he shuddered at her touch. Excitement? No. Graham hardly reacted to her when they were… “Graham, think about this.”

"I have." Graham raised his voice as he pushed Regina’s hands away. "Regina, I feel nothing, but disgust for you."

“ _Graham_.” Regina said, aghast at his words.

“I feel _nothing_ when I’m with you. Nothing good, anyway.” He told her. “I _need_ to feel something, and...it’s never going to be with you.” Graham began backing out of her office. 

“Graham.” Regina tried again.

“Goodnight, Madame Mayor.” Graham said as he turned around and began to open the door to her office to walk out.

Regina went to her desk, ready to open the drawer with his heart in it, ready to make him see sense again. “Graham, don’t you-”

“Mom?” Henry’s voice asked, and Regina realized that he was standing in the doorway, watching the scene with confusion. As she stepped away from the drawer, unwilling to give Henry any proof that he was right about the curse, she saw him look at Graham. “Graham, what are you doing here?” 

“I was just concluding some business with your mother. Goodnight, Henry.” Graham said, walking around Henry and out of sight. Regina went to the window, and watched him get in his car and leave. 

 _It will be fine_ , she told herself. _Just wait until Henry’s gone, then you can use the heart._

“Mom, what was that?” Henry asked as he stepped further into her office. 

Regina straightened her back. “Nothing, Henry. It’s just business.” Business that would be resolved the minute she got her hands on Graham’s heart. Turning towards Henry, she asked, “Where were you today?”

Henry's eyes widened slightly with panic as he searched for a story. “Um, I was just walking around. Not too far though.”

“Oh.” Regina said, clearly unconvinced. “You weren’t with that woman or those kids that made you go into the mines by any chance?”

"No." Henry protested too quickly. 

Regina knew she’d caught her son in a lie. “You leave this house without my permission. You see that woman without my permission. You contact those juvenile criminals in the making against my wishes-”

“They’re not criminals.” Henry protested. “They’re my friends.”

“What do you know about them, hm?” Regina asked. When Henry decided now was a good time to be tight lipped, Regina pressed on. “I’m your mother. I have a right to know who you’re associating with.” 

Henry glared defiantly at her, steadfastly silent. 

First Graham decided to grow a spine and end things with her before she decided to end things. Now Henry, her _son_ , was denying her. It was that woman. She was corrupting her Henry. Ever since she came here, things started going bad. Regina was putting her foot down. “Henry Daniel Mills, as long as you live in my house, you do as I say. Now I demand to know everything you know about those two, or there will be consequences.” 

Henry deigned not to give her an answer.

Had this been any other night, Regina would have just calmly accepted this little act of rebellion, and punished him in some way, waiting for the inevitable moment where Henry would ask for forgiveness. However, Henry picked the wrong night to test her patience. “That’s it!” Regina suddenly shouted, feeling some measure of satisfaction at watching Henry jump in alarm. “You are to go to your room and stay there, and you are to go to bed without any supper. If I even _think_ that you’ve left your room without permission, you will go the next night without lunch or dinner, _do you understand?_ ” 

Henry, without meeting her eyes, gave her a sullen, “Yes.”

Feeling a little better at having regained the upperhand, Regina told Henry to go, and he eagerly left her presence.

Regina groaned in anger frustration, and she knew that the only salve would be to find Graham’s heart. At least she could regain control of at least one situation with minimal fuss.

Calmly, she walked over to her desk, and retrieved the key to the drawer that hid Graham’s heart. She always kept it on hand just in case of emergencies where she needed Graham’s immediate and unconditional servitude. The last time she’d really needed it was during that incident in the early days of Storybrooke, when she’d hoped to make another little boy her son.

Inserting the key and turning it, Regina wondered what brought about the sudden change in Graham. It had to have been something. Was it Emma? No. Her general presence couldn’t have been enough to get a reaction like that out of Graham, not after twenty-eight years of compliance. 

The drawer unlocked, and Regina smiled as she opened the drawer to retrieve the heart. 

Her smile disappeared a second later. Her body reared back in shock, and her lungs began to squeeze as she realized that the heart wasn’t there. She hadn’t removed it to the mausoleum. She’d always, _always_ kept it on hand, just in case. Sifting through the drawer, and then frantically looking through other drawers, she couldn’t find the heart anywhere. Where was it? _Where was it?_

Regina began ransacking her office, but deep in her bones she knew that the heart was nowhere in her office, and she didn’t have a clue where it could be. 

Someone had stolen for her, and whoever it was would wish for death by the time she was through with them.

She picked up a nearby vase, and flung it against a wall, watching it shatter and fall to the ground as she let out an enraged scream.

* * *

Cora smiled walked down the street, passing Regina’s home, listening to the sounds of Regina frantically looking for a certain heart that was now in Cora’s possession.

As Cora walked away, not wanting Regina to catch her so close by and become suspicious of the plain persona she took on, she contemplated what she’d seen. 

The sheriff was Regina’s play thing, pure and simple. She thought to find his heart in Regina’s mausoleum, but after realizing that Regina kept the thing in her own office, Cora knew how valuable it would be. Oh, she knew that Regina would likely do whatever she could to find it, but so far she’d done an excellent job at concealing herself, making it appear as if she was nobody special. 

Cora couldn’t wait to shed this skin.

However, she was digressing. She heard gossip about the sheriff and Regina’s maid come out of the mouths of her vapid friends, none of whom seemed important enough in this life to have been important in the last. Still, Cora decided to investigate, because really what else was there to do in this insipid town?

In the end, she was rewarded. She caught the sheriff and the maid walking very closely together, and she took notice of the swollenness of their lips. Normally, peasants convalescing with each other would beneath her notice, but the man was important to Regina. A play thing, yes, but Regina wasn’t good at sharing, and Cora knew that her daughter would sooner see the man dead than with the help, though the reasoning would forever escape Cora. 

Once she returned to her dreadfully modest home, Cora went to where she hid the heart. It glowed in her head, each beat a sign that the man still lived, that Regina hadn’t simply taken his life in a jealous rage. That was probably wise, as Cora could sense the limited amount of magic in Storybrooke. It was likely that even Regina, despite having cast the curse, only had a small amount at her disposal. This heart wasn’t as bright as it would have been back home.

Cora placed the heart back in its hiding spot. The longer Regina went without this heart in her possession, the more desperate she’d become to reclaim possession of her wayward toy. The man himself was a small brick, but Cora had managed to remove that without difficulty. As the Savior would inevitably get closer to breaking the curse, more bricks would be removed from the foundation of Regina’s kingdom. And when the time came for the curse to end, for the Savior to triumph over her daughter, the foundation would collapse, and Cora would be there to catch Regina as she fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Henry’s got friends!
> 
> Also, Ingrid is in Storybrooke, so there’s also the fact that I changed up her backstory just a bit, but you’ll learn more about as time goes on. 
> 
> Also oh shit! Cora’s got Graham’s heart now lol. Can’t wait to see how that unfolds ;) 
> 
> See you soon!


	9. The Choices Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Regina’s not in the best of moods, probably because her sex slave has broken away from her control, so let’s hope she doesn’t burn anything down in the meantime. 
> 
> Mary Margaret and David have some hurdles to overcome, and other potential couples may face some romantic woes. 
> 
> Also, Cora might be up to some things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a comment and kudos. And a special thanks to Cant-Escape-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_November 10, 2011_

Regina has been in a foul mood for four days, and from what Emma could see, not even party for her friend’s husband could lift it. Some other party guests picked up on it, and quietly excused themselves from Regina’s presence, while the rest didn’t realize anything was amiss. Not that Emma blamed them, as Regina was doing a remarkable job at pretending that what happened on Monday didn’t happen. 

Maybe an explanation was needed.

Emma was in the Sheriff’s Station, minding her own business as she and Graham prepared to embark on the daily patrol of town. This was a better morning than usual because of how happy Graham seemed that he and Nancy were progressing in their relationship. Emma tried to gently bring him back down to Earth, that it had only been one date, hoping that Graham wouldn’t get his hopes up only to be disappointed. However, as Graham put it, ‘Deputy, your cynicism is duly noted, but I am too happy to care’. Emma just shook her head with a chagrined smile. 

And that’s when Regina walked into the building. Emma immediately saw the physical change in Graham, where he went from carefree to alert. This, to Emma, was strange. Regina wasn’t exactly nice to Graham, though she was considering...more behaved around him than with anyone else save Henry, and today she spoke to him with cold formality that set Graham on edge. Still, something was off, and despite her attempts to get Graham to answer her questions, he was incredibly evasive. He had continued to be evasive ever since.

“You know why he doesn't remember?” Henry’s voice reminded Emma that she was at a party, and so she turned to pay more attention to Henry, who was gesturing towards David at the other side of the room. “The curse isn't working on him yet.”

Emma explained, “Henry, David has amnesia.”

Henry persisted, “Which is preventing the curse from replacing his fairy tale story with fake memories.”

In some ways, it was almost impressive how Henry’s mind filled in the blanks before any reasonable explanation could take hold. “Right, because everyone here has fake stories that prevent them from remembering who they really are.”

Henry nodded. “Right, and now is our chance to help him. We just have to get him to remember that he's...” he gestured his hand in a way that prompted Emma to finish that thought.

“He’s Prince Charming.” Emma finally answered.

Henry looked pleased. “We We just have to jog his memory by getting him and Ms. Blanchard together.” 

“Didn’t we just try that?” Emma asked. 

“And it woke him up.” Henry replied with a smirk. 

“Hey.” A man greeted, and Emma soon saw that it was David, standing next to where the two of them were seated. “Hey. You're the ones who saved me, right?”

Emma stood up, and Henry followed suit. “Yeah, I guess.”

“And, uh, you're also the only one's I know here.” David then looked around, like he was looking for someone. 

“You can hide with us.” Emma told him. 

“Fantastic.” David said, clearly relieved. Just then, a server approached. David grabbed a toothpick, and stabbing a bite-sized carrot with it before twirling it. “Thank you.” David told the server, who simply nodded and walked away.

“So, you ever use a sword?” Henry asked. 

David laughed confusedly. “I’m sorry?” After realizing that Henry wasn’t going to answer further, David looked at Emma. “You live with Mary Margaret, right?” After Emma nodded, he continued to ask, “You know if she’s coming tonight?”

Emma shook her head. “No, she couldn’t make it.”

“Oh.” David said, and Emma saw that he was clearly disappointed. He soon recovered by asking, “What about the other man? Not the sheriff, but…” David trailed off, trying to recollect the name of the other man who saved his life. 

“You mean Killian?” Emma prompted. Once David concurred, Emma said, “Oh, yeah, he should be around here somewhere.” Emma looked around, but couldn’t find him. 

She felt an urge to find him. “Do you want me to look around for him?” Emma suggested.

David was about to say something when Henry piped up, “You go ahead. I’ll keep David busy.”

Emma narrowed her eyes at the kid, knowing he was probably going to try to ‘awaken’ Prince Charming, but said nothing of it. She just told them she’d see them soon, and began to wade through the crowd of partygoers.

She found Killian chatting it up with Ray, the two of them sharing drinks by a more secluded corner of the room they were in. Ray was the one who saw her approaching, and he looked between her and Killian. With a barely suppressed smile, Ray excused himself from the conversation, and it was only when Killian caught sight of her that the librarian realized what Ray had done. Ray, with a false look of innocence on his face, quickly said a “Hello” to Emma before leaving the two of them alone.

“Enjoying the party, Swan?” Killian asked as he took another drink.

Emma shrugged. “I wanted to see how he was doing. Besides, I barely know anyone here.” 

Killian nodded. “I thought I saw Henry here?”

“Mhmm.” Emma confirmed. “Right now, he’s probably trying to probe David’s brain into ‘remembering’ that he’s Prince Charming.”

Killian replied, “Hopefully _something_ will end up jogging his memory. It can’t be easy. Not remembering who you really are.”

 _According to Henry, that’s what everyone is going through here_ , Emma thought to herself. Killian was right though. If she was uncomfortable around this many people she didn’t know, she couldn’t imagine how David was holding up. There sure were a lot of people at the party, which only made her more suspicious. Even if half or most of the people there didn’t really know David, how many of them wondered where he went? Okay, maybe they just didn’t notice, but from the sounds of it, David had been gone for a while. Emma struggled to remember how long he was in the hospital exactly. According to Mary Margaret, he had been there as long as she was a volunteer. Something niggled at her brain, especially concerning Kathryn.

“What are you thinking, Swan?” Killian asked.

“Do you know exactly how long David was in a coma?” Emma asked him.

“I...can’t say for sure.” Killian admitted. “All I know is that it was for a while, and that all of the papers are apparently there.”

“Yeah.” Emma said, knowing that there really wasn’t much she or anyone could do. Aside from how David got into the coma in the first place, and the doctors didn’t suspect foul play, everything else was explainable. So why did things still feel off to her?

“It’s the curse’s fault.” Henry said, causing both her and Killian to jump in surprise - seriously, this kid needed to wear a bell - and Killian just managed not to spill a drop of his drink. 

Emma bit back a sigh. She didn't want to seem exasperated with this curse idea in front of Henry. 

Fortunately - and she couldn’t believe she was even thinking that - Regina swooped in. “Henry, I think it’s time to get you home.” She told Henry, placing her hands on his shoulders. She gave Emma a cut “Miss Swan,” before her eyes turned to Killian. Emma didn’t understand the look that Regina gave Killian. Was it wary? A warning? Whatever it was, Regina didn’t linger on, and instead took Henry away.

Killian didn’t understand why Regina looked at him the way she did. He hadn’t done anything against her recently, had he? Killian only meant to look at Emma for a moment, but as per usual he found that a passing glance was impossible with Emma. This time, he found that she kept looked at Henry as Regina talked to Kathryn, likely saying some goodbyes. Emma kept her eyes on Henry, her gaze almost longing as Henry disappeared from sight.

Emma eventually turned back to Killian. "What was that about?" She asked him.

“Hell if I know.” Killian said, downing the last of his drink. It was best to try to forget it, and alcohol certainly helped. Because as much as he couldn’t understand it, deep in his bones something about Regina told him to be wary. What should he be worried about though? She was the mayor, and she could be a piece of work, but that’s about it. What was the worst she could do?

* * *

Cora felt the intense need to find every trace of Jell-O in this town and destroy it, because the woman who was meant to be her friend in this life just kept going on, and on, and _on_ about it. Really, how long can someone talk about an artificial substance before they realize it ultimately amounts to nothing.

Apparently, with this woman, a very long time. 

Cora nodded and smiled and gave an occasional “Oh, yes”, doing a very good job at pretending like she cared about anything involving this woman. If they were at home, Cora would’ve used a spell to sew her mouth shut, or remove her mouth and or tongue altogether. As it was, she was stuck in this mortal body, and the only conciliation to this inane outing was that the spell disguising her features was working perfectly.

She knew it was a risk, but after some time of walking about this town with little to no interference, she knew that she had to take a chance to see how far this spell protected her.

Cora was highly pleased with the results.

No one, not even Regina, even suspected that she was truly Cora underneath the veneer mask of a plain woman. She even walked past Regina, in full view of her daughter, and Regina barely reacted to her. Cora’s presence didn’t even register on Regina’s mind, and Cora did very well at suppressing the grin she felt wanted to break out on her face. 

Cora turned her head, just enough to allow the yapping woman to believe she was politely looking around, and that’s when she got sight of Hook conversing with the Savior. 

Everyone else that wasn’t Cora or Regina would look at them, and simply see Killian Jones, the friendly librarian, having a chat with Emma Swan, the new Deputy. Right now, with the curse intact, that’s all it truly was, but Cora knew that it would change. The Savior would break the spell, and when that happened, they would all go home.

Still, there was no guarantee on _when_ that would happen. From what she gathered, the Savior was a profound skeptic, and likely wouldn’t accept the reality of the situation without definitive proof.

That’s not what bothered Cora though.

What bothered her was that Hook, in this role as Killian Jones, was laughing with her, enjoying her company, and looking at her in such a way that Cora knew that he harbored some feelings for the blonde woman. 

Cora suspected some time ago, when she caught sight of Hook, the Savior, and Regina’s son walking down the street. This recent interaction between Hook and the Savior was simply another factor supporting that suspicion. 

Turning back to the ever talkative woman in front of her, Cora hummed “Mhmm,” and continued the charade that she was at all interested in...whatever it was she was talking about now.

Cora would have to prepare to replace Hook with a suitable replacement. He had drive, that was certain, especially when it came to the prospect of killing the Dark One without becoming a Dark One himself. She would continue observing, of course, and as always, she would continue to plan. The pirate’s love life was only of concern to her if it interfered with her plans, which she suspected it might if the current feelings Killian Jones had towards the Savior not translated over to Hook’s life once the curse was broken.

She’d have to do something about that.

* * *

David decided to take a walk, preferring the brisk night air over the stuffiness he felt inside what was meant to be his house. 

He appreciated everyone coming over to welcome him back, he really did, but he’d be lying to himself if he thought that it meant a great deal to him.

His memory loss hampered any attempt he made at trying to connect with people that, to be honest, were mainly there for Kathryn. Apparently, she had been the one who went out the most, interacting with other people, making friends and connections, while David mostly sequestered himself away. Some of them knew him before his accident, but that was only because they knew him through Kathryn. 

He’d also be lying to himself if he claimed that he felt a connection to Kathryn. She was a nice lady, and she was trying to make up for lost time, but that didn’t mean that he felt some instant connection to her, not like he had with-

David sighed. He had hoped to see Mary Margaret at the party, to have some way to talk to her, to ask her Mary Margaret why she stayed away. He could hazard a guess, but he needed to hear it from her.

He wanted to talk to her about what he said, and he wanted her to know that he meant it, that it wasn’t just the ramblings of a man recently out of a coma. Mary Margaret was among the few people in this town that he felt like he knew, and perhaps the only one he felt like he could talk to with ease. He had looked forward to their talks in the hospital. They were the highlight of his day, as he always felt like he didn’t need to play a role or live up to an expectation. He felt safe.

As it was, David eventually came upon the schoolteacher standing outside in the cold, trying to hang up a birdhouse on a tree. 

She hadn’t spotted him yet, so after plucking up the courage to do so, he made the first move. “Did you not get the invite?” He asked, stopping a couple of feet away from her.

Mary Margaret turned around in surprise, birdhouse still in hand. “David.”

“Here.” David said, stepping closer to gently take the birdhouse away before hanging it up. He then turned back to Mary Margaret. “So, I heard you resigned from the hospital.” Mary Margaret looked away, so David pressed on. “Was it me? Because of what I told you. About how I felt. About you. Come on.” David, sensing further silence from Mary Margaret, continued on with a feeling of desperation, Don't tell me it's one-sided.”

“You’re married.” Mary Margaret protested. “It should be no-sided.”

“What it should be doesn’t matter.” David gently insisted, taking a step closer to Mary Margaret until there was only a foot of space between them. “Whoever married Kathryn, it's not me. I didn't choose her. I'm choosing you. Now I know you feel it. I can tell.” 

Mary Margaret looked at him sympathetically, but he could tell that she was still holding back. She spoke to him gently, “I know you think that we have this connection, but maybe it's because I happened to be the person who saved your life. So why don't we leave it at that.” Mary Margaret then walked away before David could get another word in, and he knew he had to let her go.

David took in a deep breath through his nose before releasing it. Mary Margaret was right. He was still married to Kathryn, and while he was grateful she saved his life, he knew that wasn’t the entire reason he felt a connection with her. However, he also knew that his marriage to Kathryn was apparently troubled, which prompted him to leave on his ill-fated journey in the first place. What if he did get his memories back, and the troubles just continued after the novelty of his awakening faded away?

Like he said, Kathryn seemed like a nice lady, and he hated the idea about giving her false hope.

David knew what he had to do. If he was going to show Mary Margaret that he was serious about his feelings, that they weren’t just a passing fancy, then he needed a clean break.

And the first step to that would be finding a new place to live.

* * *

Regina drove a third of the way back home when she asked Henry, “What did you talk about with Emma?”

“Stuff.” Henry said sullenly.

It took a lot of self-restraint not to snap at Henry for his insolence. _He’s just a child_ , she told herself. _And children grew out of petty tantrums_.

Besides, she simply didn’t have enough energy to shout or continue punishing him. She still hadn’t found Graham’s heart, and she was no closer to figuring out where it was than when it first disappeared. Plus, going to that party wasn’t just boring, it was concerning. David Nolan, the man Snow White’s husband was supposed to become in this life, still didn’t remember anything. Normally that would make Regina happy, but apparently David hadn’t connected with his wife. She was denied the joy of watching Snow’s husband enjoying a marriage to a woman he was once engaged to back home, but more than that she wondered what effect her curse would have on him.

She had hoped that once he awoke from his coma, he would ‘remember’ being David Nolan. Even as she nudged Kathryn into trying harder with David, she worried about something potentially jarring his real memories, thus giving him a chance to help break the curse. If even one person remembered the truth that wasn’t firmly on her side, it could severely undermine everything she’d sacrificed to get all of this.

Not for the first time, Regina reflected on ways to murder someone without the use of magic. Several possibilities came up, but it was always the process of getting away with this murder in a land where even her own position didn’t guarantee absolute protection that tried her mind.

“Henry,” she started calmly, “what did I say about keeping things from me?”

After a few moments, Henry finally said, “We were talking about the curse.”

“I see.” Regina said. She felt safe in the knowledge that Miss Swan didn’t believe in the curse. She felt that simple dissuasion could help remedy this situation. “Henry, sometimes adults feel the need to...play along with children’s games, but other times they get bored with fantasies. You can’t be too persistent, otherwise they may find you... _it_ annoying.” 

Henry, who had been staring directly at the road up to this point, sent her an angry side glance before crossing her arms. He shifted in his seat, and from she caught him swallowing, she knew that she’d struck a nerve.

She didn’t want him to feel to bad. Perhaps a gentle touch would be needed. 

“Henry, I don’t want to make you feel bad.” Regina told him, keeping her eyes no the road, as well as keeping her voice soft. “But you have to learn these things, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere. I’m your mother, I know what’s best, and what is best for you is to not keep things from me.”

“I’m not keeping things from you.” Henry said, his voice small.

“You still haven’t told me more about the kids you keep playing with.” Regina told him, sending him a quick, stern look before she turned her attention back to the road.

This time, through the corner of her eye, she saw Henry sending her a look as well. “I don’t trust you.”

“Why not?” Regina asked frustratedly as she pulled up in front of their house.

Henry quickly got out of the car, but before he left, he kept a hand on the door and looked straight at her with that same defiance he showed on Sunday. “Because I don’t trust you not to hurt them.” He then slammed the door shut, and even Regina calling his name did little to stop his progress of going to the front door.

Regina rubbed her forehead with a sigh. How many times can she send him to bed without dinner before her message sunk in? With another sigh, Regina forced herself to put her son’s insolence to the back of her mind. She had two bigger issues to deal with than her son’s sudden need for rebellion. Firstly, she had to find a way to make sure that David remembered the things she wanted her to remember. Secondly, she would focus on getting Graham’s heart back. 

Only after that would dealing with an errant blonde and two brats make the top of her list.

However, as she thought about Ms. Swan, her mind went to pirate-turned-librarian that had accompanied her at the party. The only reason Regina would care about any of Ms. Swan’s dalliances is that the man would eventually come into contact with her son. The man in question was already someone her son was affectionate of, but the fact that Mr. Jones was interested in Ms. Swan spelled trouble to her.

Regina looked at the time on her wristwatch. She could put Henry to bed, and once she was sure that he was asleep, she would see if there was still a pirate under that mask.

* * *

_I know it's crazy, but I swear, you're the only thing in this whole place that feels...that feels right._

Try as she might, Mary Margaret couldn’t get David’s words out of her head. 

_I'm choosing you. Now I know you feel it. I can tell._

Mary Margaret sighed, quickly cleaning the plate in her hands before placing it on the rack to dry. The truth was that she knew David was right. She couldn’t help but let a little smile appear on her face as she thought over her talks with David. She remembered the ease with which she could joke with him, of how quickly they entered a rhythm without meaning to.

 _You barely know him._ Mary Margaret scolded herself. _He’s married._

Worse still, Mary Margaret might have been able to convince herself that they could just be friends if she didn’t feel something more for him than she should.

And she really felt for him. She had never felt this way about anyone before. The intensity and the suddenness of it all scared her, and that’s why she had to stay away. She was worried about what she might end up doing if she became closer to David.

She tried to force David out of her mind, and focused, perhaps with too much force, on the task of removing a particularly stubborn stain on the new plate in her hands.

“You might want to ease up or that Brillo Pad's going to press charges.” Emma said, standing near the door with her hands on her hips and a quirked smile.

Mary Margaret, startled by Emma’s sudden appearance, replied, “The dishes were just piling up.” It was just a little fib. She’d taken care of most of the dishes that _had_ been piling up the previous night, but hey, anything was fine as long as she didn’t have to think about David too much.

“This have anything to do with David stopping by?” Emma said as she stepped closer to the kitchen counter. She took off her blue leather jacket as she continued, “I saw him sulking away as I pulled up.”

 _So much for trying not to think about David._ Mary Margaret thought. She stammered, “We just, um, he just…”

“Yeah, I know what you both ‘just’.” Emma responded as she took a seat. “And you did the right thing.” 

That’s what Mary Margaret already knew, so why was it that it didn’t like something she wanted to hear? “He made a pretty compelling case.” Mary Margaret told her roommate. 

“But he's still married.” Emma reminded her. “I know. I was just at the party.” 

Mary Margaret paused. She figured that Emma would likely tell her not to pursue David, and that would likely act as validation to what Mary Margaret knew was the right thing to do. However… “What do I do?” She asked Emma.

“You need to stop cleaning and have a drink.” Emma told her as she stood up from her seat, then walked over to pick up a bottle of scotch. She brought two glasses to a small table nearby, and Mary Margaret joined Emma as her roommate began she began pouring their drinks. 

“Here's the thing.” Emma said. “I don't know a lot about relationships, other than having many that failed. But generally speaking,” Emma, having finished pouring their drinks, sat down, now eye level with Mary Margaret, “if you think something you want to do is wrong...it is. So, you got to stay strong, and he has to figure out his life.”

Mary Margaret hid her disappointment. She had expected this, but perhaps she had hoped that Emma would provide some solution that involved Mary Margaret being around David without it being too much of a risk. Still, Mary Margaret couldn’t help but think about how casually Emma mentioned her ‘many’ failed relationships.

Mary Margaret, hoping her lowered tone would soften her words, asked, “And do you have your life figured out?” 

Emma furrowed her eyebrows, confused about Mary Margaret’s question. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, you’re staying here. You’ve gotten a job as the deputy, and you’re getting closer to Henry.” Mary Margaret said encouragingly. Upon seeing the more open look on Emma’s face, Mary Margaret took a chance. “When are you going to take things further with Killian?”

“What?” Emma scoffed. “There’s nothing between me and Killian.”

Mary Margaret didn’t even try to stop the ‘We both know that’s crap’ look on her face.

“It’s nothing.” Emma insisted. “We’re just, you know...friends. 

“Friends don’t look at each other the way that you two do.” Mary Margaret told her. 

“I don’t look at him like...however you think I do.” Emma denied.

Even if her own thing with David, whatever it was, might not go anywhere, she wasn’t going to let Emma deny this for herself. “He does.” Mary Margaret teased.

Emma remained silent, her eyes widened with panic. Mary Margaret was joking. Okay, yes, Killian was a nice guy, and good-looking on top of that, but...Emma was _just_ getting some semblance of balance in her life. Besides, the last time she attempted a romantic relationship it...ended badly.

 _It doesn’t have to be emotional._ A part of Emma’s mind told her. _You know he’s attractive, and if Mary Margaret’s right, he likes you too. What’s the matter with having a good time?_

Emma knew that she could, just to get that out of the way. So why did that feel wrong to her?

Emma finally said, “Well, even if he did, now’s just not a good time, you know?”

Mary Margaret opened her mouth, wanting to contradict Emma, but deep down she knew that Emma wasn’t ready to come to terms with it yet. So instead, she nodded. 

Emma then picked up her glass, prompting Mary Margaret to do the same. “Cheers.” Emma said. The two women clinked glasses, and Mary Margaret only hesitates for about two seconds before taking a sip of her drink.

_Maybe it was for the best. Maybe it wasn’t time for any of them yet._

* * *

Killian had left David’s welcome back party hungrier than he would’ve liked, but luckily Granny’s was still open, so after saying his goodbyes to Emma and Ray, he headed straight to the diner.

Now, he had just arrived at the entrance of the library. His apartment was directly above the library, so he always needed to go through the building to access his apartment. He was getting out the keys to the locked building when he heard a car pull up. Turning his head, keys in hand, he saw Regina stepping out of the car, walking up to him with a smile.

Joy. 

“Good evening, Mr. Jones.” Regina greeted formally. 

“Good evening, Madame Mayor.” Killian replied. “Hate to disappoint, but the library is closed.”

“I’m not here for an outdated book.” Regina responded. “I did need to ask you something.”

“Such as?” Killian asked. 

“What are your intentions toward my son?” Regina asked.

Killian blinked, uncertain as to what she meant. What exactly was she insinuating? “I’m his tutor.” He finally answered. It was the truth after all.

“And for Miss Swan?” Regina continued, this time with a raised eyebrow.

“ _Deputy_ Swan and I are friends.” Killian replied, not at all enjoying this line of questioning. “Now if you’ll excuse me-” 

“Henry's grades have improved since you started tutoring him.” Regina interrupted swiftly. “Especially in math, and I do believe your relationship works best as strictly teacher and student. As for Miss Swan…” 

“What about her?” Killian asked, already feeling defensive over Regina’s less than subtle insinuations about his relationship with Henry.

“Just some friendly advice, I wouldn’t get too comfortable with her.” Regina told him with what he knew was meant to be a sympathetic look on her face. “She’s bound to leave town eventually.” 

It was late, and Killian was _not_ ready to further indulge Regina in what she was doing. “Madame Mayor.” Killian said with a terse tone. “I feel like there’s been some miscommunication. My relationships are, frankly, none of your business.”

At last, the smile left Regina’s face. “My son is my business. Surely you’d agree.” Regina told him in a way that let him know that he was supposed to agree. “I’m doing you a courtesy by reminding you not to overstep any boundaries.”

“I-” Killian cut himself off, feeling his temper begin to flare at the continued insinuations. Something occurred to him just then, so he said, “It’s fairly late, and I have to wonder who’s watching Henry while we’re having this little chat.”

When Regina didn’t answer, it was all Killian could do to not roll his eyes and let out a sigh. Instead, he hastily unlocked the library door and opened it. “Goodnight.” He then stepped inside, and quite literally slammed the door in Regina’s face before locking it. He heard Regina knock on the door, calling out to him, but Killian didn’t listen.

He managed to make it all the way into his apartment before he slammed another door. The fact that Regina thought she could even try to dictate his life was bad enough, but the implications that somehow his relationship to Henry was wrong were enough to-

Killian took in a calming breath. Normally Regina didn’t get to him this much. He’d developed a thick skin long before Killian started teaching Henry, and he’d endured Regina’s barbs for some time now. Similar to Gold, for some reason Regina didn’t necessarily like him, which he was fine with. He was in no hurry to make friends with either of them, but the level of vitriol between him and Gold was on another level. However, similar to Gold, Killian couldn’t pinpoint an exact reason as to why Regina seemed to act oddly around him.

Again, Killian wasn’t going to lose any sleep over that.

Killian sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. He cared for Henry, that much he knew. The boy was bright, enthusiastic, but most of all kind. Despite his position as the son of the mayor, and especially in spite of Regina’s own feelings on the subject, Henry never looked down on anyone. Oh, he could be snarky as hell when he wanted to be, but he’d never see someone else as inferior to him.

 _Perhaps he got that from Emma._ Killian thought. Emma was not one to let anyone speak down to her without a fight, but she also was not one to ever think of anyone as beneath her.

A new thought forced its way into Killian’s mind. _If she did, would that include me?_

She was prickly, of course, but Killian could see past that. Emma was an open book to him. Underneath that tough exterior, which he had no doubt was genuine, Emma wanted to connect with someone. She wanted to have friends, to have people she could unload her burdens onto without fear of having them thrown back at her. Try as she might, Emma couldn’t hide that from him.

He also knew this because he felt the same way. 

Henry was only a child, and his student on top of that, so of course he couldn’t commiserate with a boy his age. There was Dada, but she already had her own troubles to deal with - living alone, losing her parents at such a young age, and trying to make a life for herself. Sad to say, there weren’t many people he considered to be close friends.

Emma was different though. In the course of a few weeks, Killian began to look forward to any moment he could spare with Emma, hoping that she’d walk through the doors of the library, or that he’d see her around town. Even now, days after the fact, Killian recalled the feeling of quiet exhilaration he’d had when he held Emma’s hand. It was such a small thing, and he felt a bit silly at how he’d felt like a kid again, but he hoped that it would be the last time he could hold onto Emma. 

Killian scoffed, shaking his head at his own presumption. It was too soon to hope that Emma would ever reciprocate his feelings to that level. He lazily kicked off his shoes, and allowed his jacket to land on the floor before falling against his bed with a thump. Perhaps a good night’s rest would free him of these cares, at least for a few hours.

After falling asleep, Killian’s wish was only partially answered. In his dreams, Regina and all other worries were nonexistent. However, Emma remained with him throughout the night.

* * *

For once, Graham truly appreciated being alone in the sheriff’s station. He didn’t necessarily appreciate being stuck alone with his thoughts, as they were as intrusive and annoying as ever, but at least he didn’t have to answer or avoid any uncomfortable questions. At least for the night.

It was a good thing too. Graham needed to think over some things. After his less than stellar breakaway from Regina, Graham and Nancy made plans to have lunch next Sunday, this time with the clearer implication that it would be a date. Graham was filled with both anticipation and worry. Of course, he was thrilled at the prospect of going on a date with Nancy, but he couldn’t shake the fear that allowing their relationship to go public would have serious consequences.

The townspeople probably wouldn’t care, but Regina would. She had taken every chance she could to try to talk to him, to convince him to come back with her, and every time he said no, he became more unsettled with Regina’s presence. He shouldn’t be this scared. The worst that she could do him was fire him, though she would have to find some infraction to justify that firing...probably.

No, he was worried about Nancy. He hadn’t forgotten that she still worked for Regina, and that despite how much Regina would take out her frustrations on the poor woman, Nancy gritted her teeth and kept working there because the pay was good, and that would in turn provide for Fernando. 

If Regina found out that he, correctly, left her for Nancy, and especially for himself, she might end up firing Nancy. Or she could make conditions more miserable for the maid.

He couldn't let that happen. Nancy needed her job for hers and Fernando's sakes. Maybe there was a way for him to make peace with Regina so that she wouldn’t take it out on her?

...Probably not, but he could dream.

Still, he refused to go back to Regina. On the day he finally broke things off with her, he’d felt nothing but palpable relief, and wondered why he hadn’t done that sooner. 

However, another fear popped up. If Regina did try to do something, what if she told Nancy about them? It might be that Regina wouldn’t mention anything, and technically speaking they weren’t exclusive or dating or anything like that. But the idea that Nancy would know what they did filled him with shame. 

Graham sighed. He needed to tell Nancy, preferably before Regina could. If he found some time to be alone with her before their date on Sunday, that’d be great. He just really hoped she would take the news well.

Like he said before, he could dream.

* * *

_November 11, 2011_

Mary Margaret walked into Granny’s Diner, like it was any other day, and everything was over until she took a seat at a two-person table near the counter. That’s when Ruby appeared, a menu in hand though deemed unimportant as she placed it on the space in front of Mary Margaret. Before Mary Margaret could say so much as a ‘Hello’, Ruby blurted out, “David Nolan just moved into a room at the inn.”

Mary Margaret was shocked. David moved into the inn? Did something happen to his home? “Is he okay?” Mary Margaret asked.

Ruby nodded. “Yep. He just moved into one of the rooms. By himself.” 

Mary Margaret nodded slowly, wondering why Ruby was telling her this. Was she that obvious? Then again, it wasn’t too hard to believe that Ruby would talk about this, given that it happened in close proximity to her, and Mary Margaret realized the implications of David moving in by himself.

Just to be sure, she asked, “And what about Kathryn?”

Ruby replied, “She didn’t book a room.” She was then called away by a customer, and Ruby left Mary Margaret alone with her thoughts. 

 _David left Kathryn?_ Mary Margaret thought. Why? Did something happen?

Their conversation last night suddenly came back to Mary Margaret. _Oh god_ , she thought. _Did David leave Kathryn for her?_ Why? She told him that they shouldn’t let things get too serious, given his being married and all, but could that really prompt him to leave his wife?

No. Maybe she was just overthinking it. Maybe there was another reason. Maybe things just weren’t working out between them-

“I’m a hell of a doctor, huh?” A familiar voice startled Mary Margaret, breaking her train of thought. Mary Margaret looked up, and found Dr. Whale standing in front of her. “No way he wakes up on someone else’s watch.”

“Hello, Dr. Whale.” Mary Margaret greeted with a tight smile on her face.

Dr. Whale wasted no time in continuing to talk. “So I heard that you resigned from the hospital. I hope it wasn't because of me.” 

This confused Mary Margaret. “Why would it be because of you?” She asked. 

“Well, our date.” Dr. Whale drawled, as if the answer were obvious. “I never called you after. Yeah, I know, I know. It's not classy, and I'm sorry, but if you could find a way to get over it, you know where to find me. Have a good day.” And with that, Dr. Whale left.

Mary Margaret thought that this would allow her time to process, or perhaps ignore, the recent revelation of David moving into the inn, but it was not to be. That was because Regina walked into the diner, and upon spotting her, immediately took a seat at Mary Margaret’s table. “Ms. Blanchard, may I have a word?”

 _Like I have a choice_ , Mary Margaret thought, though she gave a genial, “Of course.”

“I wanted to talk to you about my friend Kathryn.” Regina said. “But more specifically, I wanted to talk to you about her husband David. You don't belong together. He's not yours. He's taken. Find somebody else.” 

 _Am I really_ that _obvious?_ , Mary Margaret thought incredulously. Instead, she said, “I haven’t done anything.”

“Really?” Regina asked, obviously not believing her. “So he just up and left his wife on a whim?”

"I just found that out this morning." Mary Margaret told her. Her instincts told her that she should placate Regina before the claws come out. "I don't know what you think is going on, but there's nothing between me and David."

“As it should be.” Regina said firmly, leaving no room for argument. “Listen carefully dear, because it’s your best interest. Stay away. He's in a fragile state. He doesn't know who he is or what he's doing, and you're this close,” Regina put an inch of space between her forefinger and thumb to emphasize the point, “to wrecking multiple lives. So before you do something that can't be undone, let him remember who he was.” 

With that, Regina got up and left, likely confident that her message got through.

As Mary Margaret watched her walk out the door, she realized that maybe Regina was right. Sure, she felt something positive for David, and she would like to see him again, but were her feelings worth ruining at least two people’s lives?

Mary Margaret felt a headache coming on. She had a strong feeling that this wasn’t over yet.

* * *

Graham walked into Granny’s Diner, with the intention of getting a coffee for himself and a cocoa with cinnamon for Emma, and then some donuts from a nearby bakery. The donuts were meant to be a bribe for a favor, so hopefully that and the cocoa with cinnamon would smoothe things over. For the most part, his intention worked out, as he managed to get the order started with Ruby. What he didn’t anticipate was that he’d get an earful of the rumor mill.

"So, David Nolan left his wife." Ruby began.

“He did?” Graham asked, already worrying about what he was about to get himself into.

“Mhmm.” Ruby nodded. “He moved into a room at the inn last night, and this morning Regina got into something with Mary Margaret.” At this, Ruby’s face became more sympathetic, obviously feeling bad for the teacher.

“Why would she do that?” Graham asked.

“Apparently, Regina thinks that David left Kathryn for Mary Margaret.” Ruby informed him.

Ah, there was a knot forming in his stomach. “She didn’t take kindly to that, did she?” Graham asked. Why would Regina get so angry about this? Maybe it was because Kathryn was her friend? Another part of Graham wondered if maybe this was an instance where Regina was redirecting her anger towards someone else, and at this Graham felt guilt swell up inside him. 

Ruby said, “There were just tense voices. No scream matches or broken glasses, nothing like that. Still, Regina didn’t look happy.” Ruby then rolled her eyes. “Then again, when does she ever look happy?”

Graham swallowed nervously. Was Regina not happy because Kathryn was a friend, or was it because she wasn't over him breaking up with her? If it was the latter, then what did that mean for him? He listened to Ruby continuing to gossip and then another thought struck him. He and Nancy had a date.

In Storybrooke, a.k.a. the most gossipy town in Maine.

There had to be some way to lessen the impact of any retaliation Regina might have in store for them. The less this impacted Nancy, and by extension Fernando, the better.

The minute his shift was over, he was going to find Nancy and tell her the truth. If he let the rumor mill have its way, they’d make it seem like he and Nancy were having a torrid love affair.

He just hoped that he’d have that much time left.

* * *

“I don’t know what to do.” Mary Margaret confessed to Nerissa, the two teachers alone in her classroom once the last of her students trickled out. Mary Margaret heard the sound of many footsteps leading towards the exits of the school, eager students ready to go home. “I mean...do I confront him about it? Do I just completely avoid him?” 

Nerissa raised her hands, then paused in her reply, before signing, “Maybe you should talk things over with him? I’m not trying to be mean, but people are already going to think that something is going on. Might as well try to clear the air on your own terms.”

Mary Margaret bit her lip. “Maybe…” Mary Margaret grabbed an envelope and a letter opener, and began to open the envelope.

“Careful.” A voice Mary Margaret, correctly, recognized as David’s said, and she found him standing by the doorway. “Looks sharp.”

Nerissa signed, “Talk to him.”

Instead, Mary Margaret blurted out, “You can’t be here.”

Nerissa’s shoulders slumped. 

“I needed to see you.” David said, stepping further into the room before he noticed Nerissa. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I interrupting something?” 

Mary Margaret began to say, “Actually…” Before Nerissa signed, “No.” However, upon realizing that David didn’t understand sign language, Nerissa just shook her head, waved goodbye to both of them, and sending one last signal for Mary Margaret to talk to David before slinking out of the room.

Traitor. 

Now it was just her and David alone, and Mary Margaret, despite her hesitancy earlier, knew that she had to ask a question that had been burning on her mind all day. “Tell me you didn't leave your wife because of me.” She pleaded. “I do not want to destroy your marriage.”

“You’re not.” David insisted earnestly, stepping closer to her. “It's me. I don't want to hurt her either. But the most hurtful thing to Kathryn would be me pretending. She needs someone to feel about her the way I feel about you.”

He sounded so genuine, but Mary Margaret knew what she had to do. “I'm really trying hard to stay away from you.” She turned around to clean up her class, to try to distance herself from David. “To do the right thing.” 

“Why is that the right thing?” David asked, walking into her view. 

Mary Margaret firmly told him, “Because you already have a life.”

“With someone I didn’t choose.” David said, and maneuvered himself so that he and Mary Margaret once again stood face-to-face. “The man who chose that life, whoever married Kathryn is gone. The man here wants someone else.”

Mary Margaret shook her head. "You can't leave her for me. This town will tear me apart, and you and Kathryn will be the victims. I care about you David, but I have a life that I need to protect. I've already had the mayor threatening me." 

“She’s threatening you?” David asked concernedly, though with a touch of protectiveness and, unless Mary Margaret was mistaken, anger. “What did she do?”

“She told me what I already knew.” Mary Margaret said, using the same gesture Regina used earlier to emphasize, “She said I was _this_ close to ruining your lives. Besides, you still haven’t recovered your memories yet, and who knows? Maybe when you do get your memories back, you’ll realize how much you love Kathryn, and then you’ll go back to her.”

"I won't." David denied.

“But you don’t know that.” Mary Margaret argued.

David paused for a moment, and in that moment Mary Margaret thought that maybe, just maybe, he might give up. She couldn’t tell how disappointed she would have been if he did.

In the end, it didn’t matter, as David then said, “Let me prove it to you then. Meet me at the bridge where you found me at eight o'clock. Think about until it and then decide. If you don't show, I'll know, and I'll never bother you again. But if you choose this, if you choose us, you know where I'll be.”

David, with a reluctant look on his face, finally left, leaving Mary Margaret alone to wonder if going after him would truly be the worst decision she could make.

* * *

Graham, bless him, walked into the sheriff’s station juggling two drinks and a box of donuts, which Emma soon relieved him of.

“Sometimes, the cliches are true.” Graham joked as he maintained custody of his coffee.

“Thanks.” Emma said. “Though I distinctly remembering only asking for the cocoa.” Emma then gave him a suspicious look. “Okay. What do you want?”

“Can’t a friend just-” At Emma’s look, Graham cut the shit. “Remember when I said no night shifts? I need you to work tonight. Just this once.”

“Why?” Emma asked. 

“I volunteered at an animal shelter, and the supervisor is sick, and someone needs to feed the dogs.” Graham told her.

“Very lucky you brought a bear claw.” Emma said as she took a bear claw out of the box, and took a bite out of it for good measure. “Fine, I’ll take the night shift, just this once.”

“Thank you.” Graham said appreciatively.

“I just want to check in on Henry in a bit, that okay?” Emma asked.

“As long as you can do the night shift, I’m fine with it.” Graham told her before going into his office. 

Just then, Mary Margaret rushed in. “Emma, can I talk to you for a minute?” Mary Margaret asked.

“He left his wife.” Mary Margaret blurted out once she was standing in front of Emma. “David! He left her! He left Kathryn!”

“Okay, slow down.” Emma calmly told her.

“He did it for me.” Mary Margaret informed her. “He wants me to be with him. He wants me to meet him tonight.”

“That’s, uh…” Emma tried to say something encouraging, but she drew a blank. This was definitely a new development, and hey he left his wife, that was a sign, right?

Not like it mattered, as Mary Margaret immediately babbled, “I mean, I'm trying so hard to be strong, but he just keeps coming. I mean, how do I stop it? You know, how do I let him down? What would you do?”

Without really thinking about it, Emma said, “I’d go.”

Mary Margaret looked surprised. “What?” 

Emma recovered from her own shock at her words before truthfully saying, “Well, he left her. It's one thing to say that he wants you, but it's another to actually make a choice, and now he has. That's all you can ask for.” 

Mary Margaret paused. “Regina confronted me about it at the diner.” She confessed. “She said I would ruin their lives. I doubt she’d be happy about me going to meet him.”

“All the more reason to do it.” Emma said unashamedly.

Mary Margaret looked like she wanted to laugh before her nerves got to her. “Good lord. Is this really happening?”

“You tell me.” Emma said.

Mary Margaret felt anxiety and excitement intermingle in her bones. She was really going to do this. The fearful part of her mind told her that things would go wrong, that she would only know heartache, but the part of her that still dared to hope told her to at least take a chance.

What was wrong with taking a chance?

Emma watched her friend walk out of the building, and she hoped that, for Mary Margaret’s sake, and for David’s, that the man didn’t do something stupid like break her heart with false promises.

* * *

Killian was in the middle of helping Henry with a project for school when he spotted Emma walk in. He was about to say something when Emma gestured for him not to stop, and instead she sat quietly on a chair nearby.

Killian continued helping Henry with the project, but the lad, astute as ever, realized that there was a new person in the room. “Hi Emma.” Henry greeted.

Emma smiled at him. "Hey, kid. How is the lesson going?" 

“Good.” Henry responded. “Killian’s helping me with a project for class.” 

“Which class? Math?” Emma teased.

Henry scoffed in mild disgust, even as he remained hyperfocused on the project at hand. “Ugh, no. That would be awful. This is for English class.” 

"Oh?" Emma looked interested in Henry's school work, standing up to walk closer to the table. "What is it?"

Henry's eyes lit up at Emma's interest. 

Killian smiled. It was good to see that Henry had at least one parent that wanted to know about his hard work.

As Henry continued his work, he began to animatedly discuss his project, and continued doing so with Killian, and now Emma’s assistance until it was time to start cleaning up. 

As Henry cleaned everything up, Killian stood and made his way over to Emma. He gently took her by the arm and led her away so that Henry wouldn't overhear.

Emma gave him a concerned look. “What’s up?” She asked.

Killian knew that this wouldn’t exactly be a comfortable conversation, but he also knew that he had to warn Emma about Regina. “Regina and I had a...well I suppose you could call it a chat last night.” He then gave Emma a succinct version of the conversation Regina had with him last night, and of the implications she made about the propriety of his relationship with Henry.

He did not, however, tell her how much Regina had gotten under his skin. 

Emma was immediately annoyed. “Of all the- Sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with that woman.” She groused. “She always has to stick her nose in everybody’s personal business.”

Despite her anger at Regina, Emma was, in truth, both a little happy and impressed that Killian didn’t back down from Regina, and in fact seemed to stand up for both of them. He didn’t phrase it like that, but Emma could read between the lines.

Killian knew that something else was going on. “I take it Regina’s been on the warpath again.” 

“Yeah, just not with me.” Emma said. “Apparently, David Nolan left his wife, and Regina seems to be under the impression that Mary Margaret caused it.”

“And did she?” Killian questioned, though he didn’t exactly hold much conviction in that inquiry.

“No.” Emma replied, though her tone told Killian otherwise. “I just hope that this doesn’t blow up in everyone’s faces.”

Killian tilted his head. "Just how many people are involved in this?" 

Emma quickly felt this conversation going in the wrong direction. She said, “In other news, what have you been up to?” 

“General library business, and smooth transition by the way.” Killian joked.

“I try.” Emma said with a smirk on her face.

Emma then noticed that someone was missing. “Hey, I thought Dada would be here by now.” 

Killian said, “She called earlier to let me know that she had to stay behind to talk to an old high school counselor of hers. She promised to come by as soon as she could, even though I told her she could take the day off if she needed to.”

“Generous boss.” Emma commented lightly, though she was completely genuine. She didn’t know if the library was packed with people, but the fact that Killian sounded so understanding of Dada’s predicament made her smile. 

At this, Killian both shrugged and gave her a nice smile. “I can be plenty generous when the occasion calls for it.” If she wasn’t mistaken, he even waggled his eyebrow a little.

Normally, Emma wouldn’t respond to a guy doing this, but this was Killian, so she wasn’t going to take it lying down.

...not in that way.

Internally banishing that thought, Emma coyly replied “And what occasions might that be?” She even stepped closer to him for good measure.

His breath hitched and Emma inwardly cheered at her victory.

Then he stepped closer. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He teased coyly, as Killian felt emboldened to challenge her, to see how far they would take this. 

Emma was itching to counter him, but just as she was about to say something, Henry called out, “I’m done!”

Killian and Emma quickly separated, mildly embarrassed that they forgot about the 10-year-old in the room. Once Killian turned around, he found Henry observing them both with a curious yet all too inquisitive look on his face, almost as if he was happy at this recent development. Killian wondered about the merits of that kind of mindset concerning Henry.

“Okay, then, uh, I guess we should take you home then.” Emma stammered, trying to recover from the fact that she had been flirting with Killian, because that’s what it was, in front of Henry. Emma waved Henry over, and placed a hand between the kid’s shoulder blades. “Say goodbye, kid.” 

“Bye Killian.” Henry said. Only Killian could see that Henry sent the man an encouraging wink before walking towards the door. 

“See you later, Swan.” Killian said.

“See you around, Killian.” Emma replied, allowing Killian to see a small smile on her face before she turned around and walked away, leaving Killian alone in the library.

* * *

David realized, not for the first time, the disadvantages of having amnesia is that he couldn’t remember how to get around town. There was also the fact that David suspected that, in either life of his, he wasn’t so good at directions. Luckily, he bumped into one of Kathryn’s friends, the mayor, who gave him directions to the bridge. 

He was excited. He really wanted to see Mary Margaret, to prove to her that she was the one he really wanted. 

If only he hadn’t gotten lost again, though he hoped that whoever was inside the pawnshop he was entering would help.

“Hello? Hello?” He called out, though there was no answer. Stepping further into the shop, he noticed a beautiful crib mobile hanging. He found himself walking closer to it, and for the briefest moment, he thought he heard the faint sounds of a baby cooing. However, the moment was so short and so faint that it quickly escaped David’s memory.

Just as his hand itched to touched one of the items attached to the mobile, a voice said, “Charming.”

Startled, David looked towards the source of the sound, and found a man roughly in his 40s or 50s with lanky brown hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a nice suit and steadying himself with a cane. 

“I’m sorry?” David asked.

The man stepped closer. “It seems Ms. Mills had led you astray.”

David, who at the time didn’t think to question the man’s knowledge that David had talked to the mayor, just laughed it off. “Yeah. Yeah, you'd think the mayor would know her own town.”

“One would think.” The man said, mostly unamused, though the look on his face showed that he was clearly amused by something else. “Out of the door, turn right, two blocks, you'll find the trail. Can't miss it.”

“Thank you.” David said, and then he began to leave, but then he spotted something on his way out. It was an ugly little windmill, and instantly David remembered Kathryn mentioning that they used to have an ugly little windmill at their home. Wait a minute...it _was_ their windmill. David remembered that! Desperate to search for more memories, David kept his eyes on the windmill, and slowly, oh so very slowly, he began to remember pieces of his life.

Kathryn and David on their wedding day. Kathryn and David fighting. Kathryn and David looking at the windmill on their lawn. 

David leaving Kathryn and then-

Nothing. There was one last piece, but he couldn’t remember. 

Still, this was excellent news. He was finally remembering his life.

“See something you like?” The man asked.

David didn’t look at him, instead keeping his eyes on the windmill. “Where did you get that?” He asked.

“That old thing?” The man replied. “That’s been gathering dust for forever.”

Hesitantly, David reached out and spun the windmill. “I think this belonged to me.” 

“Really?” The man questioned. “Are you sure?”

Events of the past began solidifying in his mind, and now it felt like things were making some sort of sense. However, he realized as a stone set in his gut, he began to remember that Kathryn, for all of their faults, was still his wife, and he also remembered that he felt some affection for her...and he couldn’t just leave her high and dry. David knew that this meant that he and Mary Margaret couldn’t… “Yes.” David said, knowing that this wouldn’t end well. “I remember.”

David had made a promise though, and he needed to tell Mary Margaret the truth face-to-face.

A part of him still wished that she would decide against showing up, but there she stood, at the bridge at 8 o’clock, just as he asked of her.

“You came.” David said as he ran up to her. 

Mary Margaret first smiled, but then looked a little wary. “You sound surprise. In fact, you almost sound a bit disappointed.”

David knew that it would be cruel to prolong this, so he simply said, “I remember.”

Immediately, David saw Mary Margaret’s defense go up. “Kathryn?”

David nodded. “Everything.” 

“And you love her?” Mary Margaret asked.

“I don’t know.” David confessed. “But i know I did. I remember how I felt, and I think I have to honor that.” 

Immediately, Mary Margaret shook her head, her face pained though she tried to hide it. Once she looked up at him again, David felt a lump form in his throat as he felt guilt begin to well inside of him. “So...in the end, I was right.” 

“I _do_ have feelings for you.” David insisted. “Intense feelings. Feelings I don't quite understand.”

“But you’re going back to her.” Mary Margaret stated.

David hesitated.

Mary Margaret felt something tear in her chest. She was fairly certain that it was her heart.

David, deep down knowing his next words would be insufficient, weakly said, “It’s the right thing to do.”

Mary Margaret, trying to hold onto some semblance of dignity, told him, “The right thing to do was not to lead me on. I told you that this could happen, and it did." 

“I’m sorry.” David sincerely apologized. He never wanted to hurt Mary Margaret.

“That’s okay.” Mary Margaret said, trying to stay calm. “I guess it just wasn't meant to be.”

David then watched Mary Margaret walk away. For a moment, he thought to call out to her, but he ultimately held himself back. He’d caused enough damage for one night.

* * *

She knew what could happen. She knew that she could face massive disappointment. She knew all of these things, and yet there Mary Margaret was, drinking some scotch at Granny’s, trying not to let any semblance of crying break through. After all, it was bad enough that she was trying to drown her sorrows, but crying and drinking was a little more than she could bear at the moment.

In that time, whilst she stood on the bridge waiting for David, she allowed herself to hope. She allowed herself to think that maybe, just maybe, they could work something out. They could have something.

Mary Margaret scoffed. It was a long shot and she knew it, and she had no one but herself to blame for that.

“Rough day?” A familiar voice asked, and Mary Margaret saw Dr. Whale taking a seat next to her.

“Don't feel like talking.” Mary Margaret said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Come on.” Dr. Whale encouraged. “Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone when you don't give a crap what they think.”

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the fact that Mary Margaret badly needed to commiserate with someone, or maybe both. In the end, she ended up spilling her guts a little to this doctor. “You ever walk into a situation where you know exactly what's going to happen? And then you go into it anyway. And then when what you're afraid of happens, you kick yourself because you should have known better. But that's just who you are, so you keep punishing yourself.” 

“No.” Dr. Whale admitted. 

Well, at least he was honest about it.

“Heyyyy.” Ruby suddenly appeared. "So Mary Margaret, my shift ends now. What do you think about taking some tequila to your place and commiserate with me and Emma?"

Mary Margaret looked at her drink, and then Dr. Whale, and then back to her drink again. Then, figuring why the hell not, Mary Margaret downed the rest of her drink, trying and partially failing not to wince at the burning in her throat. Once that sensation had passed, she found both Dr. Whale and Ruby looking at her impressed. She raspily said, “I’m in.” Before long, Ruby rang up her drink, and she and Mary Margaret were on their way to the loft. 

It was only when they got there, finding Emma sitting on the couch, that Mary Margaret took the tequila from Ruby’s hands.

Emma looked up at them. "What's going on?"

“Tequila!” Ruby said brightly. “Nice to see you Emma.” 

“Nice to see you too.” Emma said hesitantly, joining Mary Margaret and Ruby as they sat at the small table near the counter. “That still doesn’t answer my question - what’s going on?”

Mary Margaret quickly got up, retrieved three shot glasses, and brought them back to the table before answering Emma’s question. “I met David by the bridge, just like we said we would. Turns out that David remembered who he was, and that he needed to stay with Kathryn.” Mary Margaret couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.

Mary Margaret saw the dawning look on Emma’s face, and a sympathetic look from Ruby’s, as the waitress already got the general idea from the bits and pieces Mary Margaret told her when she arrived at the diner earlier. 

“Sorry.” Emma said, feeling guilty about encouraging Mary Margaret to put herself out there.

Mary Margaret shrugged, wanting to say she was fine, but unable to allow herself to go along with that lie. “I knew there was a risk. It just didn’t work out.” 

"Still, you put yourself out there and David led you on." Emma said. "It's okay to feel shitty."

Mary Margaret simply poured some tequila into the shot glasses. “That’s a lesson learned, I suppose.”

"Yeah, that men are assholes." Ruby said as she took a shot glass. "We should really only date women.”

“Have you dated any women?” Mary Margaret asked curiously.

Ruby quirked a teasing eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

While Mary Margaret and Ruby shared a quick laugh, Emma remembered Killian saying the exact same thing when they were flirting earlier. Emma was then filled with a quiet panic. Was Killian leading her on? Was she taking an unnecessary risk? Would she end up needing some tequila when the fallout from that would hurt her?

Ruby noticed the panicked look on Emma's face. “You having men troubles, Emma?”

Emma tried to deny it. “No, no, no, I just...it’s nothing.”

Ruby and Mary Margaret shared a look before looking at Emma, showing that they didn’t believe her.

“It’s nothing.” Emma tried to insist. 

“Did something happen with Killian?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Ooh, it’s Killian?” Ruby asked, suddenly delighted, but then just as suddenly she scoffed. “Of course it is. It’s a little obvious.”

“It’s not obvious…” Emma trailed off as she saw both women nodding their heads, as if to say ‘Yes, yes it is obvious’. Emma huffed.

“Why not just go for it?” Ruby said. “After all, it’s like he hasn’t given you some burning looks.”

“That’s what I said.” Mary Margaret piped up.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I thought we were talking about Mary Margaret and David.”

“We were, and I do feel for you.” Ruby said as she patted Mary Margaret’s hand. “But now you’re included in this romantic mess.”

Mary Margaret pouted at Emma. “Come on, Emma, help a girl out.” 

“Can we just take a shot please?” Emma pleaded. 

Ruby sighed dramatically. “Ugh, fine. Mary Margaret?” 

Mary Margaret took hold of her shot glass. “Let’s do this. To romantic messes!”

Ruby and Emma clinked their shot glasses with Mary Margaret’s, repeating “To romantic messes!” Then all three woman downed their shots.

By the end of the night, they were all a little tipsy, and just to be safe, Ruby was given leave to crash on the couch.

* * *

Nancy was thankful that Fernando was finally asleep, and as such she finally had time to do to the dishes, though she was doing it as quietly as possible.

Her thoughts turned to Graham, and a smile appeared on her face.

She hadn’t gone on their lunch date with the intention of kissing him, but that’s just what happened. She was really happy that he reciprocated, and wanted to go on another date.

The idea of having a new man in her life previously unsettled Nancy. Ever since her husband died, she felt nervous at the prospect of finding love again. There was of course Fernando, who was her entire life, and a reminder of his father. Alan, her husband’s best friend, was also there, but the two of them could only ever be friends. For a while, she thought that this was what the rest of her life would be like. 

But then, as she began to see more and more of Graham around town or at Regina’s house, whenever he would visit Henry, the two of them got to know each other better, and Nancy began to develop feelings for him. However, with her busy hours with Regina and then spending the rest of her time with Fernando, Nancy wasn’t sure if there would be time to figure out if she should give Graham a shot. Some of these fears abated after seeing him interact with Fernando, going along with Fernando’s dream of being the sheriff, and it made Nancy feel warm inside at how kind Graham was to her son.

And then that kiss happened, and Nancy began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, her life could include Graham.

A knock at her door. Nancy was surprised, as she wasn’t expecting anyone. The very next second, her suspicions were raised, and she quietly put down the plate she had been washing. After quickly drying her hands, Nancy grabbed ahold of a baseball bat nearby, keeping it at the ready as she went to the door.

She didn’t open the door, and raised the baseball bat, ready to swing it at any intruder. “Who is it?” Nancy called out.

“It’s Graham.” The man replied, and immediately Nancy relaxed. She put the bat away, and opened the door to find Graham there.

“Hi, Graham.” Nancy said. “This is unexpected.” Then, Nancy noticed that Graham looked a little nervous. “Is something wrong?”

“Can I come inside?” Graham asked. “I need to talk to you about something.”

"Of course." Nancy stepped aside to let him in. “Just try to keep it down. Fernando’s asleep.”

Graham nodded, and followed Nancy who led him into the kitchen.

“So, what did you need to talk to me about?” Nancy asked nervously.

Graham hesitated, and seemed conflicted with himself about how to proceed. After a few seconds, he said, “I wasn’t completely...honest with you before. I...I’m really sorry. When we went on that date, Regina and I were…”

Nancy instantly felt something within her seize. “Regina and you were what?”

“We were...together.” Graham said, and then hastily added. “We weren’t in a relationship. We weren’t exclusive, and I should have ended things long before Sunday, and I don’t even know why we were together, but-" 

“Wait, Sunday?” Nancy questioned, fearing the worst. “You were with her when we went on that lunch date?”

“I broke things off with her after our lunch date.” Graham told her. “I told her that I was done, that whatever it was we had, we were done for good.”

“What exactly-” Nancy cut herself off when she realized her voice was becoming louder. “What exactly _were_ you two?”

Graham seemed at a loss for what to say. “We were...I don’t know...having sex?”

“Graham.” Nancy said, becoming impatient. “Either you had sex, or you didn’t, which is it?”

“We were in a physically intimate relationship.” Graham clarified. “I don't know how it started. I was lonely I guess, but the longer I was with her the more hollow I felt.”

Nancy was trying very hard to remain calm, and one question stood out in her mind. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because...honestly, I felt ashamed.” Graham admitted, feeling some burden lift off his chest.

“Why would you feel ashamed?” Nancy asked, now worried about the implications of what Graham said. Had Regina hurt him somehow?

"Because when I was with Regina, it felt wrong." Graham said. "I wanted to say no to her so many times, but she's my boss and she isn't one to take no for an answer." 

Now Nancy’s worry was teetering on the edge of horrified. She knew firsthand that Regina was not the type of woman who would take someone defying her, someone back talking or saying no to her, without a fight. She was the mayor, and her boss besides, so Regina was used to getting her own way. That was why Nancy knew that Emma got under Regina’s skin so much, because Emma was the only person in town who truly did not care what Regina did to her.

Nancy, on the other hand, was not that kind of person. Regina was her boss, and if she docked her pay or fired it, she wouldn’t be the only one who was affected. Fernando needed the money from Nancy’s job cleaning Regina’s house to pay for his food, his clothes, his school, and a roof over his head. Nancy couldn’t jeopardize that, and if what Graham was saying was true, Regina would certainly seek retribution if she thought that Nancy stole Graham away. 

On the other hand, the idea of just dropping Graham didn’t sit well with her. Not just in the capacity of not seeking a relationship with him, as she knew that Fernando could not be hurt by her own selfishness, but because Graham just looked so helpless. Regina was his boss too, and if she wanted, she could take away Graham’s job too. Why she hadn’t done so yet perplexed Nancy. Still, Regina might find other ways to harass Graham, like the few times she would have to walk past the general area of the Rabbit Hole, and Keith would tried to creep on her.

Keith was a creep, and a drunk besides, so any and every encounter with him made her feel small and alone. Luckily she was only unfortunate enough to run into him every once and awhile. She couldn’t imagine having to deal with stuff like that on a daily basis. 

Despite all of that, Nancy knew that she couldn’t take the risk. For Fernando’s sake, she would have to do something she didn’t want to do. 

“If that’s the case,” Nancy said, already dreading her next words, “then Regina can’t see us together. And the only way to ensure that is if we’re not together.”

Graham looked stricken, though not entirely surprised. He swallowed thickly as an ache began in his chest. He knew that, for Nancy and Fernando’s sake, this might happen, but that didn’t make it any less painful. “I…” Graham cleared his throat. “I understand. Completely. I do.”

“Graham, I don’t-” Nancy cut herself off, trying to push down the emotions welling up inside her. “I want to be with you, I do, but I have to think of Fernando. I can’t take the risk that Regina will dock my pay or fire me.” She then hastily, helplessly added, “You should get some help with Regina. File a complaint, get a lawyer, or something, but we can’t…” 

“I know.” Graham told her softly, still hurt at the turn of events. “I know you have to do what’s best for your son.”

Nancy felt terrible, wanting to say something reassuring but nothing came to mind. All she could say was, "Graham..."

Before she could say anything more, Graham pulled her in for a kiss.

Nancy's toes curled as she felt Graham pour everything into the kiss. As she felt his arms wrap around her waist, she wrap her arms around his shoulders, and one of her hands went to the back of his head, burying her fingers in his hair. 

Their lips molded around each other, and each one was trying to take in as much from the other as they could, knowing that this may be the last time in a while, if ever again, that they could do such as thing. 

Graham pulled away. "I know. It's okay, really. Thank you, Nancy." He gave her a heartbreaking smile. Then he turned and left before she could stop him. 

It was the right thing to do, it was the smart thing to do, but that didn’t mean that it was something either of them truly wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammit, David! Lol. Also dammit love! 
> 
> So things haven’t exactly worked out for everyone, but maybe they’ll improve with time.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments down below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	10. This is Where Things Get Dramatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The consequences of Mary Margaret and David’s meeting arise, Graham tries to come to terms with what Regina’s made him do, and things get complicated all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who subscribed, left kudos, or left a comment. They're always the highlight of my day and fuel me :)
> 
> Enjoy!

_November 12, 2011_

Mary Margaret knew something was off. She had gotten up, still hurt over David’s rejection, but determined to make the best out of her Saturday. After making a quick breakfast for three people - Ruby had said she could go somewhere else, but Mary Margaret wasn’t willing to let Ruby leave on an empty stomach - Mary Margaret decided to go out and get some groceries, and maybe stop by the pharmacy to pick up some Tylenol.

Things weren’t going according to plan.

Everyone she passed on the way to the pharmacy kept staring at her and whispering to each other. She tried approaching someone at one point, but they just brushed past her in a hurry.

Mary Margaret saw Mrs. Lucas on the sidewalk ahead of her, and she greeted, “Good morning, Mrs. Lucas.”

Mrs. Lucas gave her a stink eye that made Mary Margaret want to crawl into a sinkhole. 

She didn’t know what was going on, but her stomach started coiling in knots of anxiety.

Mrs. Lucas tried to ignore her, but Mary Margaret knew that if anyone was going to honestly tell her what was going on, it was Mrs. Lucas. Even if it meant that Mary Margaret drew the old woman’s ire.

“Mrs. Lucas, please.” Mary Margaret pleaded, stopping the woman in her tracks. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Don’t you?” Mrs. Lucas accused. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“What did I do?” Mary Margaret asked, trying hard to think about what she could possibly have done, but nothing came up. “Please, I don’t know what I did.”

“So you didn’t sleep with a married man?” Mrs. Lucas accused.

The question took Mary Margaret so off guard that all she could do was asked a highly confused, and somewhat raspy, “What? Why on Earth would anyone think that?" 

At this, Mrs. Lucas looked less confident.

Mary Margaret's thoughts began to buzz. She didn’t think that David would have wanted someone to think differently. Last night he told her he was- 

Wait. Had someone seen them together? Is that where the rumor started? 

Mary Margaret sighed, a headache forming far too soon in the day. “Mrs. Lucas, I can promise you, that David and I have never been like that. I sincerely doubt that we ever will be.” 

Mrs. Lucas eyed her. "Who said it was David Nolan?"

Mary Margaret's eyes widened at her mistake. She tried to explain herself, but it came out as a stammer. Mrs. Lucas lost her ability to be patient, and walked away with a disappointed huff.

Mary Margaret nearly slapped her own forehead, and knew that she had just dug herself into a deeper hole. 

She hoped that Mrs. Lucas was more dignified than to spread gossip; it was one thing to listen to it, but to fuel it, well, that was just mean. 

Sighing, Mary Margaret braced herself for more stares and whispers. This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

 _Graham,_ Emma thought, _does not look good._

He looked tired, possibly he’d been drinking the night before, though on that front Emma couldn’t exactly judge. That tequila Ruby and Mary Margaret brought over the previous night _was_ pretty good.

Emma had tried to broach the subject, but Graham had just gone into his office, and he hadn’t come out. Emma couldn’t be sure, but Graham’s current behavior reminded her of Mary Margaret the previous night.

Could it be that something happened with Nancy? Things had seemed to be going well on that front. Graham was excited, and the few times Emma had managed to see Nancy in the previous week, the woman seemed genuinely happy too. 

Maybe they broke up. That still left the mystery of why it happened unsolved.

The first time Emma saw the two of them together, she knew that they were smitten with each other. 

The day was slow, and they hadn’t gotten any calls, so Emma decided to go and get the truth for herself. Besides, it was kind of depressing looking at Graham, who now resembled a kicked puppy.

Out of courtesy, Emma knocked on the open door of Graham’s office. “Got a second?”

“Sure.” Graham said, motioning for Emma to enter his office, which she did. Once she sat in the seat opposite of his desk, he asked, “What do you need?”

Emma braced herself, hoping that Graham wouldn't react badly to her butting in. But then, everyone needed a friend to talk to.

 _And you would enjoy someone butting in about you and Killian?_ A very intrusive voice in her mind asked, and not for the first time, Emma really wondered if that thing she thought might be her conscience had a mute button.

“So...what’s going on with you?” Emma asked, trying not to wince at how blunt that sounded.

“Nothing’s going on with me.” Graham denied.

Emma gave him a look that said she wasn't buying it.

Graham sighed. “Look, it’s...personal business. I really don’t want to get into it right now, so can we just not talk about it?”

Emma tried not to let the barb hurt. She knew that she was prickly, but she thought that she and Graham had something of a friendship.

Graham immediately felt bad. “I’m sorry.” Graham apologized. “I know you’re trying to help. I’ve just been in a bit of a mood.”

"I noticed." Emma tried not to sound huffy about it.

Graham did notice this, and wanted to make it up to her. He wondered if coming clean about it would make things easier, but at the same time he worried about Emma’s reaction. Would she be disgusted that he had been with Regina? Would she think poorly of him? Graham respected Emma, and the idea of losing any respect she had for him made him cringe.

On the other hand, Graham did consider Emma a friend, and he knew that she was one of the few people who could stand up to Regina. Also, after telling Nancy last night, the idea of talking about it, while somewhat terrifying, also felt a little easier.

Graham, seeing Emma’s defenses slowly go up, let out a long breath, ignored the feeling that told him to keep his mouth shut.

"It's..." Graham wanted to tell her about Regina. He really did, but that wasn't the name that slipped out. "Nancy."

"I figured." Emma snarked.

Graham sent her a look, but continued to speak. “Things were going well for us. We even planned to go out on tomorrow, but...I had to tell her something.”

"Something bad?" Emma guessed, already wondering what could be so bad that Nancy called things off. But this was Graham, how bad could it get? 

Turns out, pretty bad. Emma listened to Graham talk about how, whilst he want on his sort-of-maybe date with Nancy the previous Sunday, he and Regina were sleeping together. She listened to Graham talk about how it had been going on for years, Graham’s dissatisfaction with it, the general hollow feeling he felt, but then something he said pissed Emma off.

“Wait, Regina’s house?” Emma questioned. “Henry wasn’t there, right?”

Graham’s guilty look confirmed her suspicions.

“Oh my god.” Emma groaned out.

“He was asleep.” Graham offered up.

“Seriously?” Emma shot back.

"He never knew I was there." Graham said. "I snuck out of the window every time." 

"Oh my God." Emma groaned. "That's disgusting. What if he woke up and heard you?" 

At this, Graham was looked extremely uncomfortable. “I tried to bring that up, but Regina was always sure that Henry would stay asleep.”

“So you just took her word for it? God, that's just...so you just jumped every time she told you to?" Emma asked incredulously. She felt dirty having heard this. "How could she guarantee that Henry would stay asleep? What did she drug him? Oh God, would she do that? This is just...sick and twisted."

“I...I don’t know.” Graham said. “Emma, I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah, you should be.” Emma said as got up. “I’ve gonna go get lunch. Alone.” Emma then walked out of the office, despite Graham’s attempts to talk to her. 

She needed some time alone, away from Graham and away from anyone that might remind her of what she just heard. If she saw Regina, she couldn’t guarantee that she’d turned herself in for socking the woman in her smug mouth. 

Emma shuddered at the thought of Regina. Forget Henry in therapy, Emma was going to need professional help to bleach that out of her brain.

* * *

Cora marveled at the ease with which she was able to bring a rumor to life. At times, Storybrooke was remarkably similar to the royal court she knew after she married her weak-willed husband, where each word was carefully chosen so as not to breathe any life into any rumor. Cora could even remember the short time she spent when Leopold still held interest in her, before Eva ruined everything.

Perhaps it was appropriate that now Cora could spin a few words to sully the reputation of Eva’s daughter.

She knew that taking the sheriff’s heart would unbalance Regina. Cora also knew that Regina still hated Snow White with a fiery passion, so ensuring that the little queen and her prince charming were kept apart in this life would catch her attention. If Cora could take little steps to keep that going, until the curse’s inevitable end would see them reunited, then that would go a long way to ensuring that Regina knew that she only had Cora to count on.

The rumor mill would take care of Snow and her prince for a while. Cora now wanted to spend more energy on a more pressing matter. 

Gold, as he was known in this life, was still a crafty man. He somehow convinced Regina to allow him significant control and influence in the town, and Cora had no doubt that he had another trick up his sleeve to keep himself in power after the curse ended. She also knew that, like Regina, Rumplestiltskin deeply hated someone in town.

Mr. Gold and Killian Jones clearly didn’t like each other. Though they rarely interacted in town, the few times they did were met with short instances of intense vitriol. 

It was nice to know that the deep hatred was still mutual between the two of them in spite of the curse.

Cora happened to see a young woman walk in the direction of the library. If memory served her well, she was the same young woman who worked as the pirate’s library assistant.

Cora would need to be smart about this, so as not to reveal herself too early to Gold or anyone else, but still, she smiled. It shouldn’t be too hard to remind the pirate why he had joined her cause, and why he valued revenge against the Dark One more than his own life.

* * *

“How did your meeting with your counselor go?” Killian asked as he and Dada arranged some books.

“It was okay.” Dada shrugged as she continued her work. “Frances just wanted to see how I was doing, asking me about online college, etc. Sorry it took so long.”

“I told you you could take the day off if you wanted.” Killian reminded her. He didn’t want Dada to be here if she needed time to herself.

“And I told you it’s fine.” Dada replied. “Besides, I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” Dada tried to play it off as a thoughtless comment, but Killian knew better. He knew that for all that she was a good kid, she was still lonely, and as far as he knew she didn’t have many friends.

Killian could relate to that. Like Dada, he had lost his parents when he was young, and lost his older brother a few years after. The loss of his family had been devastating, and the desperation to keep his head afloat and try to make something of his life on his own only compounded that. When Dada first came to the library, ironically trying to see if he knew of anyone else who needed a new worker, he’d seen that frantic need the minute she walked through the door.

That lonely desperation that ate away at you.

“It is a Saturday.” Killian suggested. “Maybe you could go out tonight?”

"Go out?" Dada laughed. "With who?"

“Well, people.” Killian offered lamely. “In the general vicinity.” 

Dada sent him a look that was both amused and dissatisfied with his answer. “Wow. That was terrible, boss. Even for you."

"Oi!" Killian wasn't really offended, because he knew that she was right.

"If you want to talk about going out, then tell me, how come you haven't asked Emma out?" Dada teased.

Killian immediately felt the argument turn in Dada’s favor. “Because, well, just because.”

Dada gave him a mocking slow clap.

“Don’t you have some books to shelve?” Killian stated, silently giving her an order.

“I suppose I do.” Dada sighed playfully. She then quickly added, “Maybe I can find one called ‘How to talk to pretty deputies’. I’m sure it would help you out.” She then disappeared behind the bookshelves as Killian shouted another, “Oi!” 

Killian felt his ears burning. It was a little sad if Dada was able to see his feelings for Emma, and be brazen enough to call him out on it. Not that she was wrong though.

He did feel for Emma. He felt very strongly for Emma. The only problem was that he couldn’t figure out a way to approach her about it. He knew that if he was too subtle, Emma might miss any signs he put out. If he came on too strong, he could kiss any chance of being with her goodbye. What’s more, Killian didn’t want to risk ruining what he and Emma already had.

Her friendship had come to mean a lot to him in the short time that they had known each other. The idea that he should just be satisfied with that hurt, but he wasn’t sure of what else to do.

“Oh. Mr. Gold.” He heard Dada squeak nervously in another part of the library, immediately bringing Killian out of his reverie. “What are you doing here?” 

 _Gold?_ Killian thought. _He never comes here._

As Killian quietly approached, he found Gold standing in front of Dada with that usual bored-yet-borderline-smug look on his face, while Dada was standing tense in front of him.

“We are in a library. Could it, perchance, involve a book?” Gold asked condescendingly, and upon seeing Dada’s discomfort, he gave a short laugh. “No, no. I need to speak with your employer. Where is Mr. Jones?” Gold said Killian’s name with thinly veiled disdain.

“I’m here, Gold.” Killian announced in a bored tone, appearing in their view. He then looked at Dada and said, “Dada, I think there are some books in the back. You mind checking them in for me?”

Dada, understanding the message, nodded and walked away, sending Mr. Gold a distrustful glance before she left.

That just left Killian with the _wonderful_ task of dealing with Mr. Gold. “And what business do you have with me?” Killian asked, wanting to get this over with as much as possible.

Mr. Gold stared at him. “I felt it would be better to tell you personally that I’m raising the rent on the library. 

 _Oh for fuck’s sake_ , Killian wanted to swear aloud, but for the sake of keeping his temper in check, he kept that bit to himself. “Why?” Killian asked tersely.

“Time’s are hard, Mr. Jones.” Gold replied coolly. “Everyone must do their part in keeping this town afloat, and simply put, I don’t know anyone who would consider the library a bastion of revenue.”

“And being the grand community leader you are, you just have to raise the rent.” Killian snarked, though his glare never once strayed from Gold’s cold gaze.

Mr. Gold smiled coldly. 

It reminded Killian of a crocodile, a creature that would lie patiently in wait for unsuspecting prey, and when the opportunity presented itself, it would drag the prey into the water and rip them apart. 

Perhaps Killian was being too harsh. After all, a real crocodile hunted for food. This crocodile hunted just to show that he could.

“Is the raised rent going to be a problem?” Gold asked him, though Killian was under no illusion that Gold actually cared. “If you need to alleviate your stress, you could always relieve yourself of an employee.”

Killian felt his hackles raised in Dada’s defense. He knew that Gold didn’t care one way or another what Killian did, and in fact might be happy to find an excuse to ultimately throw Killian out if he couldn’t make his payments, but he wouldn’t fire Dada. She was a competent worker who, barring her occasional meetups with her counselor, rarely took a day off or missed work, even when she was sick.

Killian also couldn’t help but think of something else. Why would Gold raise the rent now of all times? Did he do it just because he could? That was possible, but Killian wondered if there was something more to it. Gold could be cruel and cunning, but he did have some reason for doing the things he did.

Killian debated whether or not he should ask Gold, but figured that asking would only irritate Gold further and Killian wouldn't get a straight answer from him.

Furthermore, Killian just wanted Gold to leave. “We’ll manage, as we always do. Consider your message received.” He told the older man icily.

Gold gave him a mocking nod. “I await your next payment.” Gold said with a quirk in his smile, and left without another word.

Killian repeatedly told himself to keep clam, to stamp down the special kind of anger that rose in Gold’s presence. He managed to keep most of it in check, but still ended up slamming a fist against the flat side of a bookshelf.

He hated that Gold could get under his skin.

“Uh, Killian?” Dada suddenly appeared in his view, looking both nervous and strangely resolute. “I, uh, heard what Gold said.” Dada didn’t look happy with what she was about to say, but took in a breath to say it. “Look, if you need to, I can work more hours to help make ends meet, or-”

“No.” Killian gently cut her off. “It’s like I told Gold, we’ll make due, and Gold can get stuffed if he doesn’t like it.” He then placed a comforting hand on Dada’s shoulder. “Just do what you normally do, and we’ll be fine.” 

Dada didn’t look so certain. “You sure?” She asked. 

Killian gave her a confident smile. “Have I ever let you down before?” When Dada shook her head, looking a little more reassured, he gently patted the shoulder his hand was on before retracting it. “Now come on, this library isn’t going to get cleared by itself.”

Dada smiled a little before giving a little salute. “Whatever you say, captain?”

“Captain?” Killian asked curiously.

Dada shrugged. “It just seemed fitting.” She then turned around and got back to work. 

Killian shook his head a little before joining Dada, though the captain statement strangely remained with him for the rest of the day.

* * *

_November 13, 2011_

Somehow, during the late hours of the night Graham found himself at the Rabbit Hole. Okay, maybe not so much a mysterious ‘somehow’ as him trying for the second night in a row to forget the emptiness he felt in his soul.

...He was getting a bit morose for his taste.

He knew that Nancy had to break things off with him. It was the best thing for her and Fernando. They both knew that Regina could and would seek retaliation if they were in a relationship together. Besides, at least he was honest with her about what had gone on.

That didn’t exactly make things easier.

In fact, it made it harder, because it only made his admiration, respect, and affection for Nancy grow. He knew she had feelings for him, that she wanted to be with him like he wanted to be with her, but she knew her responsibilities first. She was willing to push him away to protect her son, and in no way could Graham fault her for that. 

Furthermore, Emma hadn’t talked to him since he revealed what he and Regina had been doing the day before. Well, that’s not exactly true. They did talk, but mostly through a string of terse words from Emma that were strictly business, and Graham’s failed attempts at trying to explain himself. He just hoped that Emma didn’t hold this against him forever.

He’d managed to potentially ruin two relationships with two different women over the course of two days.

He groaned loudly, banging his head against the bar.

“Rough day, Sheriff?” A voice asked, and upon lifting his head, Graham saw Killian taking a seat next to him at the bar. 

"Uh, more like a rough couple of days." Graham admitted, sitting upright once again.

Killian ordered a drink for himself. “Well, we’re at a bar and my drink’s on the way. This seems like an ideal place to bare your soul.”

Graham chuckled. "I thought that was the bartender's job, hearing his patron's woes." 

Killian grabbed a nearby napkin, and began to lazily clean up the bar counter like he was a bartender. “Well, I am a man of many talents, and listening just happens to be one of my better ones."

Graham felt a little nervous about letting Killian in on what was going on, but, and Graham suspected his previous drinking’s involvement, he just sighed and figured why the hell not. “It’s some...women troubles.”

"Ah." Killian nodded. "That, I am familiar with."

“With Emma?” Graham couldn’t help but tease.

At this, Killian’s head hit the bar counter, getting genuine laugh out of Graham. 

"We're in the same boat then." Graham patted Killian on the back

“That we are, mate.” Killian said as he lifted up his head. “Which woman is on your mind?”

Graham paused before admitting. “Nancy Evans.”

That surprised Killian. “Nancy...she works for Regina right?”

“Mhmm.” Graham affirmed.

"How did that happen?" Killian asked.

“It...was a bit of a surprise.” Graham admitted with a fond smile. “We would see each other when I was over at Regina’s house - on business.” Graham quickly added, which was the truth. Per Regina’s orders, he was never over on the nights Nancy was working. “One day, we just decided that it would be nice to have lunch together. We talked, had fun, and then...we kissed.” At this, Graham couldn’t keep a smile on his face. “I didn’t think it would happen. I mean, I wanted to before, but I didn’t know how I would ever bring the subject up, or if it would happen. I’m glad we took that leap though.” Finally, the smile melted off Graham’s face. “It just didn’t work out.”

Killian sympathised. “I’m sorry to hear that, mate.”

Graham shrugged. “It was my own fault. I…had something with another woman. _Not_ a relationship, but…the thing is, I don’t even know why I was with that other woman for so long. It never felt right. I never wanted to, at least I don’t think so, but after a while it became habit. Especially considering that she had a…forceful personality, to say the least.” The shame Graham felt was building up, and Graham was staring listlessly at the bar counter now. “With Nancy, I never felt like I had to do everything I could to please her. I _wanted_ to, but it wasn’t like a duty. She made me feel _something_ , and now all of that’s just over, because if we’re together then Regina-“ Graham cut himself off, realizing his mistake.

“It was _Regina_?” Killian asked before letting out a low whistle, grabbing his newly arrived drink and taking a gulp. “About time you dodged that bullet.”

Graham was surprised that Killian's tone lacked judgement. He didn’t really know what to say. More than that, it was a relief for Graham to be able to tell someone about this and it didn’t blow up in his face.

"I know." Graham sighed. "It was messy. It still is messy. Regina is her boss, and we both knew that Regina would be...less than pleased if she found out about us.” 

Killian nodded, knowing this to be true. "Less than pleased is quite an understatement."

Graham grimaced at the librarian's words. “So, here we are. Nancy and I can’t be together, and Regina can never know.” 

“That needs to remedied.” Killian stated. “Perhaps Emma could help.”

Graham winced. “Emma...isn’t exactly pleased with me.” Graham quickly and quietly explained the source of Emma’s ire, particularly the bit about Henry being asleep in the house when he and Regina would...Graham couldn’t bear to lift his head from his hands, though he did hear the sharp, almost pained inhalation of breath of Killian.

“That’s...that.” Killian took another swig of his drink. After taking another appreciative sing, Killian said, “That's quite a predicament you have."

“Yep.” Graham said, finally lifting his head. “Any idea on what I should do?”

For a few moments, Killian didn’t say anything. Graham took a swig of his own drink before Killian finally said, “If you had a way to direct Regina’s anger solely at yourself, and not Nancy, would you still seek Nancy out?”

“Yes.” Graham replied immediately, only mildly surprising himself.

Killian then gave him a pat on the back. “Then give it time, but don’t give up. Try smoothing things over with Swan, and then we can all find a way for you to be with your lady, by your lead, of course. If you’re not willing to fight for what you want, then do you really deserve it?”

Graham took in Killian’s words, and despite their succinctness, or perhaps because of them, Graham felt his spirits lift. Again, it could also be because of his previous drinking, but...no. This time, he knew it was because Killian was providing him with some backup. Graham lifted up his nearly empty glass with a smile. “Quite right there. Cheers.”

Killian lifted up his glass. “To your romantic success.”

“And to yours.” Graham supplied cheekily. 

“And now you’ve ruined it.” Killian jokingly groused. 

“Just take the drink, _mate_.” Graham teased, and both men took the drink.

Both men ordered another drink soon after, and also shared a silent sense of relief, as both of them subconsciously realized that they may have just made a new friend.

* * *

_November 14, 2011_

As Emma drove around Storybrooke at a slow pace, Emma was worried about Mary Margaret, and she wanted to kick the ass of the idiot who started that rumor about Mary Margaret and David sleeping together. Few people commented on it to their face, but plenty of people whispered and pointed at Mary Margaret. That kind of stuff died down when Emma would glare them into submission, but she knew it started up the minute she left the room.

Two days. Two whole days of people talking about something that didn’t even happen. Emma heard that David had denied it, especially to Kathryn, but given the events of the last two days, Emma wasn’t willing to completely trust something from word of mouth.

Not for the first time, Emma wanted to give David a good shake, and ask him what the hell he was thinking getting Mary Margaret’s hopes up like that.

Then again, even though Emma had warned Mary Margaret, she hadn’t exactly been more forceful with deterring hers and David’s budding whatever it was.

Emma sighed. She wondered if maybe she was projecting her own hopes of a successful relationship on Mary Margaret. If she was, Emma knew that it was because she hoped that Mary Margaret and David would act as some sign that her feelings for Killian could work out.

Emma hated to admit it, but some feelings were there. She was still far too hesitant to think too much on them, but she knew that Killian was special. He made her happy, and she could fool herself into thinking that he could make her feel safe.

After witnessing the fallout of Mary Margaret and David, especially with the rumors, Emma knew that she couldn’t take that chance. She had thick skin, and she had survived worse, but it wasn’t solely for her sake. She knew that Henry liked Killian, and if she and Killian became a thing and it didn’t work out, it would only hurt Henry in the end.

 _Aren’t you just using him as an excuse?_ A voice intruded in her thoughts. _Are you really more concerned with Henry’s feelings, or are you just afraid of getting your heart broken in the process?_

She told that voice to shut up.

Of course she was more concerned about Henry. The kid had such high hopes for everything, and he was still young enough to believe that things would just work themselves out. She didn’t want to be the one that force reality on him before he was ready.

Henry needed someone that he could rely on, and Emma couldn't be selfish.

Maybe it was for the best if she and Killian were just friends. Ignoring the unsettled feeling in her gut, Emma continued on her drive. Yes, just friends.

Her heart protested the thought, but even so, Emma just didn’t know if she could take that kind of chance. 

So, for the rest of the night, Emma put it in the back of her mind, hoping that she wouldn’t have to confront that problem any time soon.

* * *

Henry knew something unsettled his mom, and he had a feeling that it had something to do with Graham.

At first, Henry just thought that it was something Emma did that put his mom in a bad mood. That filled Henry with excitement, as it could have meant that Emma was breaking the curse. After a while though, Henry began to realize that it wasn’t Emma at all. In fact, things kind of seemed at a standstill with Emma. On that front, Henry blamed himself. He’d need to do something to help her figure things out.

When Henry retraced his steps, thinking back to when his mom’s bad mood started, he remembered that time Graham left his mom’s office, and how his mom stared at his car driving away. Henry wasn’t stupid. He knew that there had been a fight, but for once, it looked like Graham was the one who won it.

It was strange, as Graham usually did everything his mom said, doing what she wanted to make her happy. Henry figured that it was a result of Graham being cursed. That made Henry worry for Graham, as he knew that his mom wouldn’t take someone doing something she didn’t like well. And yet, similar to his mom, Graham had been slowly staying away from his mom, doing what he wanted without asking her first.

Something had to be going on there, and maybe something in his book could help him out. His book had been the key to figuring out this curse so far. 

As he flipped through the pages of his storybook, he thought about everything he knew about Graham. 

First, Graham was a man, so that eliminated about half of the characters in his book. Second, he was the sheriff, and he answered directly to his mom, so it had to have been someone he trusted, or someone she knew she could control. Third, he was a decent guy here, so he couldn’t have been all bad in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry opened his book and began to read. 

The Sheriff of Nottingham? No, he was a bad guy. Robin Hood? No, he’s supposed to be dead. The Mad Hatter? Eh, no.

Page after page, Henry searched for who Graham might be. At one point, he accidentally skipped a few pages, but before he could go back to where he was, an illustration caught his eye. It was of a man, with brown hair and, Henry believed, brown eyes. The man was in a forest, and wore some furs, but what really captured Henry’s attention was that he was standing alongside a white wolf. This wolf had one black eye, and one red eye.

Intrigued, Henry backtracked until he got to the beginning of their story. It was about a character called The Huntsman, one who lived in the woods, all alone save for his companion wolf. He stayed away from humans because his own human parents abandoned him, and only found solace in the company of wolves, similar to the ones that had raised him.

Henry continued reading, especially when it came to the part about the Evil Queen approaching the Huntsman with an offer. The text read:

 _The Evil Queen, mistaking the Huntsman’s decisiveness in hunting for ruthlessness, chose him to be her assassin, she chose him to end Snow White’s life._

That’s when Henry remembered reading this before, and a thought struck him. Hurrying to see if it was true, Henry quickly went to the last page of that story, and found the excerpt he was looking for.

_The Evil Queen angrily threw Snow White’s letter into the fire, and in order to ease her fiery hatred, she went to retrieve what she believed what Snow White’s heart. Upon realizing that the heart the Huntsman presented her was that of an animal’s, not of the princess she so despised, the Evil Queen sought immediate retribution. She tore the Huntsman’s heart out of his chest, and henceforth made him her slave, subverting his own will under hers, forcing him to enact any and all cruel orders she gave him._

Henry’s head shot up, reminding him that he was still in Storybrooke, and he breathed out, “Mom stole Graham’s heart.”

That's why Graham had been so compliant to his mom’s every whim. Henry had thought it was the curse, but as he thought about it, he realized that Graham had always been more compliant than others. 

His heart had to be somewhere. Maybe in the house? Or his mom’s office? It had to be somewhere, and Henry was going to find it.

It was time for another Operation.

* * *

Cora remembered the first time she ripped out a heart. It had been her own, and she remembered both the fascination and the horror she felt as she held her own heart in her hand. She remembered the paranoia she felt at the idea that anyone could be nearby as she took out the one thing that could halt her ascension to power. The sheer vulnerability of quite literally putting her heart out into the world.

That was why Cora saw the absolute power that came from holding someone else’s heart in her possession, particularly when he was the sheriff.

Cora stood in the woods, and smiled as she saw the sheriff approach her with a dazed look on his face, a multiple of files in his hand.

“Did you get everything?” Cora asked, his heart resting in the palm of her hand.

“Here are copies of all the files I had in my office.” The sheriff replied tonelessly. The criminal files Cora ordered him to bring to her were a limited resource, but they would give her information on the people in town, and hopefully they would let her know who was who, and if they could be useful. Aside from that, this was a test to see if the control Cora had over his heart was secure. Ah, it felt just like being home.

Cora then ordered, “Hand them over.” 

The sheriff did so immediately.

Once the files were securely in Cora’s hands, she gripped his heart a little tighter, watching him wince as one hand flew to where his heart should have been. She lifted his heart to her lips and said, “Now, forget my face, forget our interactions, and go about your night like nothing has happened.” 

The sheriff silently nodded, the dazed look still on his face as he turned around and left Cora alone.

Cora smiled, putting the heart in her purse, and turned around to head home. She had some reading to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Graham. It’s hard writing some of this time because no one else other than Regina knows exactly what she did to him, and I can’t wait until that comes to light. gh
> 
> And now Cora’s got some dirt on everyone, at least so much as there’s a criminal record. 
> 
> See you soon!


	11. Friends and Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay it’s Thanksgiving! *checks the calendar* Well in this chapter it is.
> 
> People come together, there’s a nice hint of drama, and we get to see a fan favorite from the show!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a comment, kudos, or subscribed to this fic. It really makes my day.
> 
> And a special thanks to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_November 24, 2011_

It was Thanksgiving, and Killian felt more than a little awkward watching so many families milling about, getting ready to settle down in their homes for a Thanksgiving feast. While they would do that, Killian would be...doing something. He didn’t exactly fancy the idea of spending a Thanksgiving dinner alone...again.

Less than a week ago, he had made an offer to Dada, whom he knew would also spend Thanksgiving alone, that they could spend the holiday together. Dada had politely turned him down, saying that she didn’t want to be a burden, and Killian knew she was being honest. Dada, sadly, had a tendency to believe herself to be more of a burden than an assistance, and although Killian had tried to negate that mindset, he wasn’t sure how much headway he had made. He’d made the same offer to Graham, but Graham said that he always worked on the holidays. 

That still left him with the conundrum of how to forget that he was alone on a holiday.

That was how he found himself standing in an aisle, forgetting that he was staring a little too long at the food.

"Hey." Killian looked away, his eyes finding Emma, who was looking at him with a mixture of concern and understanding. She stepped closer to him. “Stare any harder, and you might burn a hole in that bread.”

“Maybe I like my bread crispy.” Killian offered nonchalantly.

Her response was a gentle smile. “Any plans for today?”

“Oh you know, just...doing something.” Killian lamely said, wanting to smack himself.

“Oh, really?” Emma asked, sounding interested before toning it down to seem nonchalant. “Because, you know, Mary Margaret’s hosting this open Thanksgiving. A Friendsgiving I think she called it. The point is that she said that we could invite a couple more people, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to stop by.”

This peaked Killian’s interest, but still he didn’t want to get his hopes up. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

Emma scoffed a little. “You wouldn’t be intruding. A bunch of people are coming over. There’s Ray and LJ, Declan, and maybe Ruby and Mrs. Lucas.” She then muttered something that suspiciously sounded like, “Not sure how she’s gonna pull that off.”

Killian had to admit. The idea was both intriguing. Hadn’t he just lamented over the idea of spending Thanksgiving alone? Now here Emma was offering him a way out, providing a a tempting alternative.

He made his choice. “Alright Swan, you’ve convinced me.” Killian felt his heart warm at the smile that formed on Emma’s face. “You mind helping me pick out something to bring over. I might as well add to the feast.”

Emma smirked. “There’s probably going to be a lot of food already, but I think we can figure something out.” 

Killian couldn’t wait.

* * *

Ruby would be the first to admit that she was a little too interested in gossip, and she would be a hypocrite if she claimed that she hadn’t taken part in it, but this business about Mary Margaret and David’s supposed one-night stand was getting out of hand. Maybe, _maybe_ , Ruby would be a little reserved if it were true. After all, she loved a good time, but messing with a married person was a touch too far.

Key word: _if_.

Ruby had been there the night Mary Margaret came into the diner, depressed as all hell that David Nolan couldn’t get his head on straight about who and what he wanted, and left her high and dry. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but it was true. 

Anyways, Ruby had been there when she got some tequila and took Mary Margaret back to her loft, where she, the sad schoolteacher, and the new deputy had a little girl’s night getting a little tipsy on some nice tequila. All things considered, it was a nice time, and they were nice enough to let Ruby crash on their couch. The point is that Mary Margaret and David didn’t do anything fun together, and Ruby doubted that Mary Margaret was duplicitous enough to keep them hidden.

Which brings her to a certain argument with her grandmother.

“Look, you don’t have to come to Mary Margaret’s place if you don’t want.” Ruby told her granny.

“And you’re planning on going alone?” Granny questioned. “And leave me alone here on Thanksgiving?”

Ruby did an admirable job at not rolling her eyes. “You still think that she slept with David Nolan?”

“She hasn’t exactly done a good job at dispelling the rumors.” Granny said as she fussed with some decorations.

“Because they’re not true. How many times can someone say ‘This never happened’ before they get tired of it?” Ruby said, tired of having this argument with people. “Besides, why do you care so much? You barely know Kathryn.” 

Granny huffed. "That doesn't mean I can't have an opinion on a homewrecker."

“She’s only a homewrecker if she’s wrecked a home.” Ruby rebutted. “As far as I know, the Nolans are still together.”

“Not if _she_ has anything to do with it.” Granny groused.

Oh Ruby was so _done_ with this. She felt really bad about what she was about to do next, as she remembered a tipsy Mary Margaret asking her not to tell anyone, but she couldn’t let this continue. “Nothing happened between her and David, Granny, but if it did, he probably would’ve gone alone with it.” When her grandmother opened her mouth, Ruby cut her off. “David asked her to meet her somewhere the night he supposedly got his memories back. He told Mary Margaret that he wanted to be with her, but chickened out at the last second. If Mary Margaret wanted to do something, and maybe it’d be a disaster like it is now, David helped her get into that idea. So maybe cut it out with all of the judgement, or you can spend Thanksgiving alone.”

Ruby then began to grab her coat. She turned back and added. "I knew you were a bit old fashion, but even I didn't think you would buy into that misogynistic bull where the man is never at fault. And David is definitely at fault. Believe me, I was there." Ruby then shrugged on her coat, and opened the door to leave.

“Ruby, wait.” Granny pleaded, her voice softer this time. 

Hesitantly, Ruby turned back, and found that, as always, her grandmother still retained that hint of stubbornness. However, Ruby also saw a level of uncertainty on Granny’s face.

It took Granny a bit to finally speak, but when she did, she said, “I’m not going to pretend like I approve of the situation. If it is like you claim it is, then that still doesn’t leave Mary Margaret an innocent party. _But_ ,” she emphasized when Ruby took a step, ready to just leave, “if what you say is true, then...Mr. Nolan has got some explaining to do. Mainly to his poor wife.”

"So what are you saying?" Ruby asked warily.

Granny took a calming breath before answering. “I’m saying that...perhaps...I need to know more about the situation before I judge. More importantly, I want to spend Thanksgiving with the only family I have left. If that means spending it with Mary Margaret too, then I can live with that.”

Ruby, despite trying to keep up a tough front, felt relieved. Granny could be a massive pain in the ass, but she was right. They were the only family Ruby had, what with both of her parents dying when she was a baby, and Granny having to raise her by herself. Ruby was willing to go to Mary Margaret’s loft by herself, but she’d be lying if she claimed that she wouldn’t feel sad about Granny not being around.

“You’ll behave yourself?” Ruby asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Granny snarked, “Yes Ruby, I’ll behave myself. Believe it or not, I have done this before.”

Ruby smiled, pleased with having actually won an argument. She then said, “Come on. I think we can still buy a pie at the store.” 

“Oh no no.” Granny said. “If we’re bringing food, we’re doing this right.”

“How?” Ruby asked 

“If we start now, there’s just enough time before the party to make a real pie.” Granny said in a way that made it clear that no argument would be had, and was already heading towards the kitchen.

Ruby rolled her eyes affectionately but followed her nonetheless. If anyone could get a pie ready in record time, it was her grandmother. “Whatever you say Granny.”

* * *

Henry, with the assistance of LJ and Declan, was heavily focused on the task of putting the playground spinning wheel into motion. Once that was achieved, the three kids held onto the cold metal of the spinning wheel. After Henry hoisted himself onto the spinning wheel, Henry asked, “So are you guys still on for tonight?”

“Yep!” LJ responded as he got onto the spinning wheel, and helped Declan get onto the spinning wheel after witnessing the other boy experiencing trouble. Once he was sure that Declan was securely on, LJ continued, “My uncle is going to bring this sweet potato thing to the party.” LJ then seemed to realize something, and after kicking the ground to keep the spinning wheel in motion, added, “Don’t tell anyone yet. He wants it to be a surprise.” 

Declan made a face. “Ew, sweet potatoes?” 

“What’s wrong with sweet potatoes?” LJ asked defensively. 

Declan suddenly looked a little embarrassed. “I don’t know. It’s just, what’s sweet about potatoes?”

“Have you ever had them before?” Henry asked as he kicked the ground to keep the wheel in motion.

“Um...no.” Declan admitted embarrassingly. 

“Well feel free to judge _after_ you’ve actually tried them.” LJ told him.

Declan rolled his eyes.

“By the way,” LJ added, “are you sure your parents won’t mind you spending Thanksgiving with us?” 

“I already told you, they don’t care.” Declan said, taking his turn to keep the wheel in motion. “They’re probably glad that they won’t have an extra mouth to feed.” 

Henry and LJ shared a concerned look, and not for the first time, Henry wondered if maybe Declan’s parents were trolls or evil witches or wizards. 

Declan must’ve caught their shared look, and cut in with, “Hey Henry, how’s your evil mom reacting to you spending Thanksgiving with your good mom.” 

“She...doesn’t know.” Henry said. “It’s okay though. I’ll find some way to slip out without her noticing.”

“That could work, if this time you don’t end up in a collapsing mine.” LJ snarked. 

“You’re hilarious.” Henry deadpanned, causing both of his friends to share a quick laugh at his expense. 

"You're mom is a bit..." Declan started.

Henry interrupted. "A bit aggressive?"

"I was actually going to say bitch." Declan plainly stated. 

“Dude.” LJ protested, gesturing at Henry. 

“What?” Declan countered before turning to Henry. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. I bet she hasn’t met a puppy she hasn’t wanted to kick.”

"She's still his mom." LJ reminded Declan, sending Henry a comforting look.

“He’s got another mom, and that one’s cooler.” Declan shrugged.

“Can we stop talking about this?” Henry pleaded, already feeling heavily uncomfortable with a subject that was hard enough to deal with when thinking about the curse.

Both LJ and Declan both let out uncomfortable apologies before LJ tried to make things right. “So...any progress made about the curse?” He asked. 

Oh, duh. Henry had completely forgotten. “Yeah, I figured out who Graham is. He’s the Huntsman.” Henry then began an explanation for his reasoning, and his two friends listened patiently. Well, as patiently as they could, as they would occasionally interrupt with questions of their own. He then explained the newest operation he came up with.

“Operation Wolf Heart?” LJ asked as the boys began to make their way to the swings. “I thought you usually chose names that aren’t supposed to be obvious.”

“It’s not obvious. It’s cool, but that’s not the point.” Henry said as they each took a seat on the swings. He and LJ had no trouble getting into a rhythm.. “We have to find Graham’s heart and return it to him, or else my mom could really hurt him.”

“But how are we supposed to do that?” Declan asked, struggling to get his swing into motion. “You’re mom’s the mayor, and most likely a witch, and we don’t even know where the- shit. Where the heart is. Fuck.” Declan swore as he tried and failed to get his seat into motion.

“You need help Declan?” Henry asked.

“No, I…” Declan trailed off, but after a few more unsuccessful attempts, Declan quietly said “Yeah maybe.”

Henry got off his swing set, and helped Declan get into the rhythm of things.

“Thanks.” Declan said as he began to happily swing in his seat.

“No problem.” Henry said, quickly returning to his former motion. “Now, let’s talk about Operation Wolf Heart.”

* * *

Jefferson was at odds with himself. On one hand, he was happy to be outside of his house, especially since time finally _, finally_ decided to move forward. The beach he was currently sitting at was nice after all. On the other hand, all the space that Storybrooke had to offer meant nothing without Grace.

He didn’t venture out of the house often, but today was a special date. Spending twenty-eight years trapped in his house in the woods allowed him to catch up on knowledge of this world. He knew what today’s date meant to everyone here, even if they didn’t realize that they were living in a lie. That still didn’t take away from the fact that ripping himself in half would be preferable to having his own daughter unavailable to him.

Back in the days where he hunted for mushrooms to sell at the fair, scrounging for a living in order to put a roof over Grace’s head, he would’ve given anything, done anything, to give her what she had now - a decent house, food every night, good clothes and an education. Most of all, he wanted stability for her. It was what made Priscilla and he give up their life of crime. They wanted Grace to have what they never did. 

And now? Grace had all those things, but Priscilla was long dead, and Regina had warped her mind, just like everyone else’s, to believe in a lie. One that did not involve Jefferson at all.

_Whatever she wants you to do, don't do it!_

He should’ve heeded Grace’s plea. Jefferson cursed himself every day for going along with Regina’s plan, but the offer was as too tempting. He could’ve provided her with the things he and Priscilla wanted for her if he just did one last job for Regina. 

He knew Regina was a snake and he still let her bite him. 

He’d gotten as far as a couple of blocks from Grace’s house before he finally backed down, and slinked away. He knew that if he proceeded any further, he’d do something stupid like try to see Grace, or Paige as he was called here. He might end up in the asylum under the hospital if he claimed that “Paige” was his, what with her “real” father living with her. Her cursed parents were good people, both in his life and the last. They had been his neighbors for years before he was taken away, and during the times where he would have to venture out further or longer than usual, they would happily let Grace stay with them.

Now they had taken over Jefferson’s role as Grace’s family, and his old neighbor became her “new” father. 

A selfish part of him urged him to try to break the curse’s hold on Grace, to get his daughter to remember him. However, that part was stamped down by the fear of how Grace’s mind would break at having two different lives at war in her head. What’s more, he doubted that Regina would risk someone remembering the curse, and he was not horrible enough to risk his daughter’s life for his own peace of mind.

God he needed a drink.

“Are you okay?” An unfamiliar voice asked. Jefferson’s head turned in that direction, and there he found a young woman standing there. He thought he recognized her from somewhere...hold on...ah, that’s right. She was the library assistant. 

Because Jefferson didn’t want to risk his only hope of being reunited with his daughter meet an untimely end at Regina’s hands, Jefferson kept track of Emma, and saw that she frequented the library quite a bit. Jefferson suspected it was more about seeing her son and the librarian than to see the books.

In any case, that’s partly why he recognized this young woman as being the same person who would float into the library day after day. That and when he was stuck in his home for twenty-eight years, people watching was all he could really do to entertain himself.

“I’m fine.” Jefferson lied, not really sure what else to say. He tried thinking back, and genuinely wondered if this was the first time he’d actually talked to another person in this town. He was fairly certain that it was.  

“You sure about that?” The woman, Dada he believed her name was, asked as she stepped closer. “You’re alone, on a beach, in the middle of fall.”

“Maybe I just feel like it.” Jefferson said. “What about you? You're out here, too.”

Dada narrowed her eyes playfully at him before sitting down next to him. “That I am. I just don’t have anywhere else to be. I’m Dada by the way.” She held out a hand for him to shake. 

Jefferson took that hand, and felt a little current run through him, though he chalked it up as this being probably the first person he’s been in contact with for years. “Jefferson.” He finally replied, releasing her hand. 

Dada smiled widely. “You have anywhere you need to be?”

Jefferson paused, but then shook his head, not knowing if he could say anything without spilling his guts, and then ending up in the asylum.

“Oh.” Dada said. She paused with a pondering look on her face before declaring, “Maybe, if you want, we could just...keep each other company?”

Jefferson gave her a look. “You literally met me five minutes ago, and you want to spend Thanksgiving with me?”

Dada blushed. “I know, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” Jefferson backtracked, feeling like an ass.

Dada sighed. “My boss offered to let me spend Thanksgiving with him, but he was already nice enough to give me a job, so I didn’t want to take advantage of him you know.” She paused before awkwardly stated, “And I kind of just dumped that on you out of nowhere. I’m just gonna go.”

Dada made a move like she was going to leave before Jefferson’s hand shot out and gently clasped her wrist. Another electric current thrived under his skin, but he played it off as his nerves acting up. 

“No, wait.” Jefferson said, and Dada waited. Jefferson felt nervous, worried about if he overstepped his boundaries, but for the first time in years he might actually be able to spend time with someone. He couldn’t spend it with Grace, not until the curse was over, so maybe, just maybe, he could alleviate some of that loneliness. Besides, it’s just on day right. “We could just...do something today, right? Just to kill time.”

Dada smiled. “Yeah, sure, definitely.”

There was an awkward silence as both of them waited for the other to choose what to do.

Dada broke the silence and stood up. “So, let’s get going. Come on.” Dada encouraged him by tugging on his arm until he stood up.

“Where are we going?” Jefferson asked as they just started walking.

“I don’t know.” Dada shrugged, now with a more carefree tone in her voice. “Whatever’s closer, or not. We’ll figure it out.” 

Jefferson couldn’t help but smile. Maybe this could work out after all.

* * *

Emma...was a little overwhelmed. There were so many people in the loft, and it was just to celebrate a holiday. Okay, maybe it was kind of a big deal, but if she was going to be honest, she’d never really experienced anything like this. With the stays at foster homes that happened to coincide with Thanksgiving, the holiday ranged from being barely acknowledged to a formality, where everyone knew that the biggest irony about a holiday for giving thanks for what you had and being with family was wasted on a bunch of rejects nobody wanted.

Or at least that’s what her foster mother told Emma was she was six.

In the present day, everyone was either watching TV, chatting with each other, or preparing the big dinner. 

“Emma? You okay?” Ray asked, and Emma realized that she had been staring into space for a while. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Emma apologized. “I’ve just kind of got a lot on my mind.” 

Ray gave her a concerned look. "If you need a breather, I'll cover for you." 

Emma waved one of her hands. “No, it’s fine. So, how have things been going?” 

“Just usual lawyer business.” Ray shrugged. “Though my cases have gotten a little more awkward whenever I’ve appeared before Judge Herman.” 

Emma winced. “He hasn’t gotten over you helping Ashley I take it.” 

“No he has not.” Ray replied. “He seems to be under the impression that somehow I was the one that convinced Sean to stay with Ashley, seemingly throw his future away, and then move in with Ashley and the baby.” 

This surprised Emma. “Sean moved out of his dad’s house.” 

“Oh yes.” Ray told her. “And the judge hasn’t forgiven me for that either.”

“But it wasn’t your fault.” Emma said.

“Well I know that, and you know that, but rather than actually talk to his son about it, Judge Herman thinks it’s better to blame me for it.” Ray then sighed. “My cases involving him are going to be a living hell. The least I can say is that he’s _trying_ to be impartial, from a legal standpoint that is.”

Emma could only nod in sympathy. 

“What about you?” Ray asked. “How’s life as a deputy going?” 

"Oh, you know." Emma shrugged. "Not much crime here unless you count Leroy's drunken disorderly which isn't so much disorderly as just drunk off his ass."

“I should know.” Ray deadpanned. “He’s come to me often enough to try to ‘make it go away’, and doesn’t seem to understand that it doesn't work like that. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who’s as grumpy as he is sober and just as happy when he’s drunk.” Ray then added, “How’s Graham doing by the way? I take it he’s patrolling on the holidays like he does every year?” 

Emma just kind of awkwardly shrugged. Things between her and Graham were still kind of tense, since she hadn’t totally forgiven him for his thing with Regina while Henry was in the house - it still grossed her out. However, he did seem genuinely sorry for what he did, and something about the whole situation - aside from the obvious - just didn’t sit right with Emma.

In her opinion, from how Graham said it started, Regina crossed a line and used her power as mayor to keep Graham in her clutches. Anyone would be hard pressed to say no.

Just then, the front door opened. Emma turned and saw that it was Killian, and immediately Emma’s mood lifted. Her lips turned upwards.

Killian was greeted by the perfect hostess that was Mary Margaret. She took his gift of a decent looking casserole they found at the store earlier, and told him to hang up his coat and make himself at home.

As Killian shrugged off his leather jacket, his eyes scanned the room. They landed on her, and a bright smile grew on his face.

Emma felt her smile grow.

Ray seemed to notice this as well, and waved Killian over. The librarian soon joined them. 

"Ray." Killian greeted, but his eyes were still on Emma. "Swan." The three of them then began talking, and time started passing by without them noticing it.

It was halfway into their conversation when Emma saw Mary Margaret frantically looking around the kitchen. Emma politely excused herself before joining her roommate. “What’s up?” She asked Mary Margaret.

“I...oh no.” Mary Margaret groaned. “I don’t think we have any wine left. I used the last of it to add a little kick to the turkey.”

“Just how much wine did you put in there?” Emma joked, but Mary Margaret was already putting on her coat. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see if there are any stores left. Try to entertain people while I’m gone.” Mary Margaret then crossed her fingers. “Wish me luck.”

“Wait-” Emma tried to say, but there was no point. Mary Margaret was out the door in a flash.

Emma turned around, and realized it was now up to her to at least keep the apartment from burning down.

Yeah, she could do that.

She looked around the room at the people milling about and talking.

It should be easy, right?

* * *

It was true. Regina was going to make Nancy work on Thanksgiving, but luckily Regina got called away on some business, and wouldn’t be back for an hour. Nancy was going to use that hour to the fullest, and so she was on her way to be with her son. 

There she found her baby boy waiting outside of Granny’s Diner, which was closed, with Alan. It was a little funny seeing her tiny three-year-old son running around Alan, who looked like a giant in comparison.

Fernando soon took notice of her, and ran in her direction. “Mommy!” He shouted as he ran into her arms.

“Hi baby.” Nancy said as she picked him up and held him in her arms. She worried a little at his paled complexion, but figured that it was probably the cold or something. She’d check on it when they got home. “Hi Alan. You ready to go?”

“If we walk now, we’ll have time to sit down before that-” Alan was ready to swear, but thought better of it in Fernando’s presence, so he said, “before that not so nice person needs you again.”

Nancy shook her head and the three of them started walking.

Fernando laid his head on her shoulder as they walked.

“How are you holding up?” Alan asked her softly, trying not to disturb Fernando. “With your friend?” 

“Alan.” Nancy sighed. 

“Alright, don’t talk about it.” Alan tried to sound nonchalant. “It’s just...whenever you’re ready, I’m always here.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Nancy said, feeling her mood dampen at the thought of Graham, and what they could not have. “Please, I don’t have a lot of time to enjoy this, so let’s just-” 

Fernando gave a strong cough, and it sounded a little ragged. 

“Ooh, easy there.” Nancy patted his back comfortingly. They made it down the end of the block, and they were nearing their house. “So, how do your hours look for the holidays?” 

Alan said, “Mrs. Lucas said that she won’t be open until tomorrow, so I’m free all day. As for Christmas, she’s giving everyone two days off before-”

Alan was interrupted by another cough by Fernando, and Nancy thought she felt something wet against her shoulder. Alan tried patting Fernando’s back. “Easy buddy. Deep breaths- oh my god.”

Alan’s last words were tinged in horror, and Nancy gently guided Fernando’s head back so she could look at him. Nancy’s eyes widened with horror as she saw Fernando had some blood on his chin, and he was looking paler than ever. His eyes were stained with tears as his face scrunched up in pain.

“Mom-” Fernando tried to say, but he coughed, and a speck of blood got on Nancy’s cheek. 

Nancy guided his head back to rest on her shoulder. “It’s okay, baby, it’s okay. Uncle Alan and I are just going to take you to the hospital.”

Without further prompting, Nancy and Alan began running. They ran as fast as they could, with Alan shouting at anyone in their way to get back. Any thoughts about anything else were quickly overwhelmed by one singular thought racing in Nancy’s head: _Please, please, please let my baby be okay. Please._

* * *

Mary Margaret hurried to the store, and promised to thank the store for being open at this hour later at the dinner. Mary Margaret dashed in, grabbing some decently priced but nice wine, and quickly bought it, ignoring the judgemental look of the clerk. She still gave them a holiday well-wish, and was determined to be on her way home

That was until she bumped into Kathryn Nolan in the parking lot. At least Mary Margaret didn’t drop the wine.

“You.” Kathryn breathed out.

“Me.” Mary Margaret replied, already dreading the prospect of whatever this conversation would entail. “I’ve got to go.” She turned around quickly.

“Wait.” Kathryn said. 

Mary Margaret cursed her inability to say no at a time like this. Mary Margaret turned around, and waited for Kathryn to speak. 

It took a while for Kathryn to speak, but when she did, Mary Margaret’s fears were well-founded. “Is it true? About you and David?” Mary Margaret tried to answer, but Kathryn didn’t give her the chance. “David told me nothing happened, but everyone keeps talking and talking about it and...I just want to put this behind me. Just tell me the truth. Did you and David...do anything?” 

Irritation filled Mary Margaret, as she’d become quite tired of the rumors and speculations, but seeing the suspicious yet worried look on Kathryn’s face, she knew she had to say something. So, she opted for the truth. “David and I were never together in that way. We talked and...look, David made it very clear that he was going to be with you.” 

Kathryn didn’t look convinced.

Mary Margaret just wanted to get back to the party, and she’d already said what she needed to say. She tried to turn around once again when Kathryn asked, “What did David say exactly?”

Mary Margaret didn’t see the relevance of this, but answered her anyway. “Just that…” Mary sighed. “He said that it was the right thing to do.” 

“But was it what he wanted to do?” Kathryn asked, her tone giving away that she already knew the answer.

Mary Margaret tried to reassure her. “Kathryn-” 

“No. No, it’s fine.” Kathryn said. “Happy Thanksgiving.” Kathryn then turned around and entered the store.

Mary Margaret got the feeling that she just made things worse, but at the moment, she didn’t entirely care. She had a bottle of wine in hand, and a party to get back to. If she grabbed another bottle on her way out, then that was her business.

* * *

Graham walked into the hospital at a fast pace, and quickly went up to the reception desk. “Sheriff Humbert. Official business. I need to talk to whoever is in charge of Fernando Evans, quickly.” He told the receptionist firmly.

The receptionist gave him the room number, and Graham was on his way up, replaying the call he got from one of the emergency room doctors. 

 _Sheriff Humbert, we’ve got a three year old boy that started coughing up blood. The mother and a family friend brought him in, but neither of them claims to know what caused it. The boy’s name is Fernando Evans-_

That’s as far as the doctor got before Graham said he would be on his way. 

Coughing blood? What had happened? Did Fernando eat something? When? When could he have done it? What could he have possibly eaten that could cause him to cough blood? 

All of these questions and more raced through Graham’s head as he rode the elevator to the floor he wanted to get to. Once the elevator doors opened, Graham walked through them, quickly making his way around other people in the halls as he headed to the waiting area of the emergency room. There he found Nancy, with reddened eyes and tear stains on her cheeks, and Nancy’s friend, Alan Baptiste, who had a comforting arm around her shoulder. 

“Nancy.” Graham said, and both Nancy and Alan’s heads whipped in his direction. 

“Graham.” Nancy tried to say without a quiver but it came out as a sob. She stood up on shaky legs, only held steady by Alan who seemed just barely able to keep himself upright. That’s when Graham noticed the blood stain on her shoulder. “It’s Fernando, he’s…” 

“I know.” Graham said gently as he stepped closer to the pair. “I got the call. Please, tell me everything you know.” 

Nancy and Alan began to relay everything they had observed the entire day. Nancy was busy at Regina’s for most of the day beforehand, but Regina was called away on business, and Nancy left the house to be with Fernando. Alan said that he had the day off, so Fernando was with him. They had a quick lunch before they met up with Nancy, but Alan said he felt fine, and Fernando didn’t seem to be bothered when they left to meet up with Nancy. 

Alan was telling Graham the name of the restaurant when a doctor came into the waiting room. “Fernando Evans?” They called out.

Immediately, the three of them went forward to the doctor, with Graham showing his badge to the doctor at the same time Nancy asked, “How is he?” 

The doctor said, “He’s unconscious, but for now he’s stable. We had to pump his stomach, and we’re still waiting on lab results to confirm what exactly he ingested that could cause this.” 

“Can we see him?” Nancy asked. 

“Of course.” The doctor then waved down a nurse. “Nurse Gibbons, please take them to see Fernando Evans.” 

The nurse soon took Nancy and Alan away. 

The doctor, upon seeing Nancy and Alan disappear from sight, turned to Graham. “We _are_ still waiting on lab results, but my first guess is that he may have ingested some form cyanide.” 

“Cyanide?” Graham asked as he wrote this down on a pad he pulled out from his pocket. 

The doctor nodded. “Like I said, we’ll have more when the test results come back.”

“What about Fernando?” Graham asked. “Are there going to be any permanent effects?”

The doctor thankfully shook their head. “Gut feeling says he won’t, but I’d like to keep him at the hospital for a few days to make sure he makes a full recovery.” 

“Thank you doctor.” Graham said.

The doctor then left Graham alone to check on another patient, and went to Fernando’s room. He had to see for himself how Fernando was doing. 

When he got to the room, the first thing he thought was, _He looks so tiny._

Fernando was laying on a singular bed, one decorated with friendly faces of cartoon animals, the kind they made for kids in hospitals to keep them calm. He was paler than usual, and oh so still except for the rise and fall of his chest. There were breathing tubes attached to his nose, and Nancy held one of his hands as she brushed his hair back from the little boy’s damp forehead. 

Alan noticed Graham, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. The worry lines all over Alan’s face said enough. 

Nancy glanced at Graham before returning her gaze to Fernando. “The nurse said that Fernando should be alright, but…” Nancy told him with a hoarse voice. 

“Fernando’s a strong boy.” Graham said before adding, “We’re going to figure out what happened.” 

“I’m sorry, Nancy.” Alan said. “I should have watched him more.” 

Nancy shook her head. “Alan, we don’t know what happened.” 

“I just…” Alan trailed off, unsure of what to say. 

Nancy paused before asking, “Alan, could you get some water please?” 

“Of course.” Alan said, wanting to make amends somehow. “Sheriff, you want anything?”

“I’m alright.” Graham said. 

Alan took another long glance at Fernando, worry and fear etched into every facet of his face, before leaving the room. 

Now Graham and Nancy were the only conscious people left in the room. Graham went to stand beside Nancy. 

He wasn't sure what he could say. This was not a situation that he'd ever thought he'd be in, especially with Nancy and Fernando. If there was something he could do to get them out of that situation, anything, he’d do it in a heartbeat. 

It was Nancy who finally spoke, though she kept her gaze firmly on Fernando, and her voice was quiet and slightly hoarse. “I’ve been away so often, working long shifts cleaning Regina’s house over and over again. Henry barely makes a mess except in his room, but she demands that it be spotless. Every day I miss with Fernando, the only thing that gets me through it is the idea that the pay is good, and he’ll have what he needs.” Nancy swallowed a lump in her throat. “Sometimes I hate that feeling I get, like I’m missing so much. Alan is such a good help, but Fernando needs his mom, and I wasn’t there when he...ate or drank something that made him…” Nancy trailed off, unable to continue. 

Graham raised his arm to give her a side hug, but he stopped himself at the last minute. He put his arm down, and after a few moments he said, “You’re doing the best you can. That’s all anyone can ask for.” 

Nancy turned to look at him. “But it’s not enough is it? When Fernando needed me, I wasn’t there. I didn’t protect him.”

“What happened wasn’t your fault.” Graham insisted. 

“Isn’t it?” Nancy shot back. “I’m supposed to be his mom. I’m supposed to keep him safe, not Alan. Alan is doing me a massive favor looking after him, but I’m supposed to...god.”

Graham took a half step closer to her, leaving a few inches in between them. “Nancy-” 

Nancy turned around and hugged him, and immediately Graham’s arms wrapped around her. When Nancy’s body started to shake from some sobs, Graham held her tighter. “Shh, shh, it’s going to be okay.”

* * *

Regina was going to be sick. _This_ was who Graham left her for? Her _maid_?

When Regina came home to find that Nancy wasn’t there, Regina had tried to call her, but no one answered. Then, she’d gotten a call from the hospital, since Regina was on Nancy’s emergency callers list. Not out of concern for the woman, but Regina would need to know if she needed to hire someone else if her current maid would be out of commission. 

Regina came to the hospital to check the severity of Nancy’s injuries, only to find that it wasn’t Nancy, but her son in the hospital. Regina decided to see what all the fuss was about, and that’s when she saw Graham and Nancy holding each other. At first, she just thought that Graham was just showing a soft side to some downtrodden woman, but that wasn’t it. The more she observed, the more she realised the _tenderness_ Graham showed Nancy, the way that _she_ held onto _him_. 

Graham and Nancy separated, and Graham gently used his thumbs to wipe away some tears on her cheeks, before moving around the room to hand her some tissues. 

Regina drew back before he could catch her watching them, and Regina made herself leave the hospital. If she didn’t, she would have raked her fingers across her maid’s tear-stained face like claws. Not that she was completely ruling out that possibility. 

For so long, Regina blamed Emma for Graham’s change in behavior, and while Regina knew that Emma was in part responsible for everything going out of order, now Regina knew better. It was Nancy’s fault. Somehow she had seduced Graham, and lured him away from her. 

Another thought hit Regina. It was so obvious. Nancy cleaned her house, so she would have access to her office, even if Regina told her to not open any of the drawers. Perhaps she was a thief, wanting more than what Regina was paying her, and found the heart. If so, why did Nancy take it? Wouldn’t she have been too horrified at the prospect of her boss having a human heart in her drawer, even one that glowed?

Regina soon got into her car, and drove back home. She needed to make a plan, and one way or another, the maid was going to _suffer_ for this.

* * *

Cora knew that she didn’t have access to magic beyond holding the sheriff’s heart, but she did try to get back into the habit of brewing potions, even if they were only chemicals here. She hated to admit it, but she was a little rusty. Memories as her dull cursed self impeded her progress, but she did manage to regain some progress.

After all, poisoning a young child was hardly difficult work, so she knew that she still retained the basics. 

She had just wanted to see if perhaps she could slip in enough poison in a sweet to take him down. Not kill him, but definitely make him worthy of a visit to the hospital. She didn’t particularly care for the boy, or his mother for that matter, but she knew that it would make Regina happy.

After all, it didn’t take long for Cora to suss out that the sheriff and Regina’s maid wanted to be together. She also knew, and confirmed from the sheriff who had no recollection of their meeting again, that nothing had happened, and nothing would happen so long as Regina was kept in the dark.

Cora didn’t understand the appeal of the man. Was he physically attractive? Yes, but beauty fades. Plus Cora found it hard to believe that he came from any place of importance or standing.  

Cora was under the belief that Regina, like many little girls, wanted to play with her toy only when it suited her, but became enraged when another little girl picked it up. 

The same thing happened here. Cora was once again impressed by the strength of her spell, which disguised her voice as well as her body, and that when she called Regina under the guise of a nurse from the hospital, her own daughter didn’t suspect a thing. She had only made that call after she saw the sheriff go straight to the hospital, and she knew that the lovesick man was ready to be the hero for the bereft mother. 

Regina must be slipping.

Cora watched as Regina stormed out of the hospital with a vengeful look on her face. Cora knew that the maid would suffer, and likely the sheriff would end up either back in Regina’s thrall or in a grave. Neither matter to Cora. It was a small, petty thing, but it helped to further unbalance Regina.

When the time came for the curse to break, and Cora could shed off this uncomfortable disguise - the constant itching under her skin sometimes annoying, sometimes painful - she could simply say, ‘But darling, I tried to help. I thought poisoning the boy would bring you some comfort, especially with what your own maid tried to do behind your back. They just brought him to the hospital too quickly.’

At least, that’s what she would say if Regina ever connected the dots. She did so love thinking that she had uncovered one of her mother’s plots. Why spoil her fun?

Cora, having seen enough, returned home, wondering how else she can tips the scales in her favor. 

* * *

 

Emma held down the fort, and stopped anything from burning down, long enough for Mary Margaret to come back. Emma’s roommate had impeccable timing, as she got back just as the turkey was finally ready to take out of the oven. Emma scrambled to get the surprisingly heavy thing out of the oven, which led to Ray helping out. Everyone began to move things around so that the small table, the counter, and a coffee table in another part of the loft were closer together.

Everything felt almost surreal to Emma. She was actually celebrating Thanksgiving in a place she had been staying at for a while, and people _wanted_ her to be there. The kid she gave up for adoption being among them. 

“Come on, Emma, sit next to me.” Henry urged, and Emma let him lead her to occupy a seat next to her. Emma then heard a shuffle next to her, and saw Declan pulling out the seat next to her. 

“This way sir.” Declan joked as he and LJ led Killian to sit in that seat, using their smaller bodies to somehow box Killian in without forcibly moving them. 

Killian took the seat next to her, watching the boys in bemusement, and it was only when he turned around that he realized what they had done. Both boys, clearly unashamed, high-fived each other and took their own seats next to Henry. Ray - who placed three plates in front of LJ, Declan, and himself - shook his head amusedly at the boys. 

“What just happened?” Killian asked. 

“I think you were outsmarted by two sixth graders.” Emma replied. 

“I’m in seventh grade.” LJ piped up before returning his attention to the food, though his uncle stopped him from taking a bite before everyone was settled. It didn’t take long before people were seated, albeit with some people at the counter and others at the small table. 

Mary Margaret, one of the people seated at the counter, raised her glass of wine, prompting everyone to raise their own drinks. “I would like to thank everyone for coming and celebrating this holiday with us. Things in Storybrooke have become more exciting lately, but I am certainly thankful that everyone is here and in good health. Cheers.” 

“Cheers.” Everyone repeated before taking a sip of their drink. Mary Margaret then began encouraging everyone to give their thanks, which they did. As Emma watched this, she felt strange. Definitely happy, which was strange enough. She couldn’t really tell what it was, but- 

“Emma, you’re next.” Henry whispered, and Emma realized that everyone was waiting for her. 

“Oh, right.” Emma said, trying to think of something nice to say. Something short, but genuine. She continued, “Uh...I’m thankful...for having a chance to celebrate this with all of you.” 

Emma saw Mary Margaret and Henry smile at her, and upon looking at Killian, she saw that he was smiling at her too. 

Killian said his thanks too, and Emma once again thought about what else she was feeling. She was happy, because she was surrounded by people who liked her, and she felt- 

 _Secure_. That old traitorous voice in her head told her. 

 _No, no that can’t be_. Emma argued as she listened to Killian give his thanks, and Mary Margaret giving everyone leave to dig inn. _That’s not possible for me. It’s never happened before._  

However, in spite of it all, she realized that she also lacked a certain feeling that came with every holiday. The fear that someday, somehow, this would all be meaningless, as someone - either her or everyone else - would have to leave. Now though, she wondered if perhaps she _didn’t_ have to leave. When she first came to Storybrooke - god it felt so long ago - she thought that she’d be here for a week tops, just to see how Henry was doing. Now she was sitting next to him, enjoying a holiday dinner, and- oh he just spilled his drink. 

“Sorry.” Henry said as he tried to wipe up his mess with his napkin. 

“It’s no problem.” Emma assured him, taking her own napkin and helping clean up. Once she saw that he got some of it on his pants, she grabbed another nearby napkin and began to wipe some of it away before she realized what she was doing. 

“Thanks Emma.” Henry said, taking the napkin from her as he tried to finish the job.

Emma didn’t know why that struck her so much, until she realized that it was something she saw moms do for their kids. 

It really shouldn’t have surprised her so much, but somehow it did. And when Killian handed her a new napkin to replace the one she just used, and found that, for some strange reason, she really liked the idea of this sort of domesticity.

 _This isn’t anything special_ , Emma told herself, even if she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wouldn’t want to trade it in for anything. Maybe it was too much too hope for, but maybe she could enjoy it while it lasted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least everyone, especially Emma, is having a good Thanksgiving.
> 
> Aye poor Fernando. Don’t worry, he’ll be okay. The question of how he was poisoned remains a mystery. For now…
> 
> Let me know what you think below.
> 
> See you soon!


	12. The Kids Are Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Henry meets a pair of twins, we learn more about the kids in town (namely ones without parents), and some (non-fatal) sacrifices are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a comment or kudos.
> 
> Special thanks to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney). 
> 
> Another Disclaimer: Someone pointed out on the OUAT TV Tropes page that when Regina orders Emma to take Ava and Nick to Boston in “True North,” child services are handled at the state level, so Regina actually should’ve taken them to Augusta, Maine (the capital) or Portland, Maine, whichever is closer. For the sake of not confusing it with Portland, Oregon (I live on the West Coast so I’d make that mistake a lot), it’s going to be Augusta, Maine.
> 
> Enjoy!

_December 5, 2011_

After school, Henry walked into the pharmacy to see what new comics Mr. Clark had. There he spotted Killian getting some medicine, and he went over to talk to him. 

“Hi Killian.” Henry greeted. “What’re you doing here?” 

“Hello to you too.” Killian said as held up a small box. “Just getting some Tylenol. And what are you doing here?” 

"I just wanted to see if Mr. Clark has new comic books in." Henry replied. “I wanted to hang out with my friends today, but LJ had to go straight home to do something with his uncle, and Declan was feeling really tired today.” 

Killian rolled his eyes at the mention of Declan. “If only he was too tired to not muck up the books at the library.” 

“To be fair, he is trying to help put them back in the right place. He just doesn’t care about the Dewey decimal system.” Henry offered. “Besides, it might help if you two would stop glaring at each other.” 

Killian simply sent him a glare. He then said, “Tell you what, how about I buy my medicine, then we can walk to the library.” 

“You know the library isn’t the only place in town, right?” Henry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Killian sent Henry a look with a raised eyebrow. “Would you prefer it if I took you home?”

Henry glared at Killian. “You’re a cruel man, Mr. Jones.” 

Killian looked too pleased with himself. “Enjoy your perusing. I’ll be back soon.” Killian then went up to the counter to buy his items. 

Henry looked at the rack of comic books nearby, and he immediately began reading an issue of _Wolverine vs. Hulk_. He had gotten to the part where the title heroes were about to beat each other down when someone asked, “What are you reading?” 

Henry turned around and found a girl around his age, but taller than him, with long, slightly wavy blonde hair and pale blue eyes. 

Henry answered, “The Hulk versus Wolverine.” 

The girl said, “I’m Ava. I think I've seen you around school. You're in Miss Blanchard's class, right?”

Henry smiled and nodded his head. He didn’t know who she was really supposed to be, but he liked the idea of getting a new friend. Maybe he could convince her to play with LJ and Declan too. 

A boy, a little shorter than Ava, with brown hair but the same blue eyes as Ava, came into view. “Almost ready, Ava?” 

Henry couldn’t really hide his disappointment. She was leaving already? Maybe he could find her at school. He couldn’t remember talking to them before, but it was nice to get to know people. When they weren’t working for his mom of course. 

“This is my brother Nicholas.” Ava said, and the boy waved at Henry. Ava then asked Henry, “You wanna come hang out?” 

“Sure.” Henry said without thinking, but they only got as far as the counter before he spotted Killian, and stopped in his tracks. “Hold on, I need to wait for someone.” Henry then tapped on Killian’s back, and waited for the man to turn around to introduce them all. “Killian, this is Ava and Nicholas. You mind if we hang out together.”

“I suppose not-” Killian cut himself off, and was looking at something behind Henry. Henry turned around to look at it, but couldn’t find anything. Before he could turn to face Killian again, Killian put a hand on his shoulder to keep him still. “Hold on. Something’s wrong with your backpack.” 

“I’ll say.” Mr. Clark said, and Henry saw that he was blocking the exit to the pharmacy, glaring at Ava and Nicholas. “Don’t think I didn’t see you rob me. Mr. Jones- Achoo! Mr. Jones, open Henry’s backpack.” 

Killian opened the backpack, a bit awkwardly with only one hand, but he must have seen something he didn’t like as he then said with a disappointed sigh, “Henry, take off your backpack.” 

Henry did so, and found that _somehow_ found a bunch of chocolate bars in it. Not only that, but there were also things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other boring things were in there. Henry immediately looked at Killian, worried that Killian would think he did it. “I don’t know how this got in here.” 

“Are you sure?” Killian asked warningly. 

“I’m sure. I wouldn’t carry stuff like this.” Henry protested. It was true. The only person he knew who carried stuff like this in their backpack was Declan, and he just carried that stuff everywhere. That’s when he caught the nervous and guilty looks on Nicholas and Ava’s faces, and Mr. Clark’s words earlier came back to him. Henry felt like he’d been punched in the gut as he realized that Ava and Nicholas had been using him. “That's why you were talking to me. So your brother could put the stuff in there.” 

Neither Ava or Nicholas tried to argue with this, and Henry immediately felt downtrodden. And here he was thinking he’d made a couple more friends.

* * *

When the sheriff’s station got the call about two young thieves trying to burgle the pharmacy, Emma decided that she would be the one to go over there. Upon entering the pharmacy, she spotted Mr. Clark keeping an eye on two young kids - a blonde girl and a brown-haired boy - while the two kids nervously glanced between Mr. Clark and the door. Meanwhile, Killian was closeby, and apparently trying to calm down an irate Regina, albeit with the most unamused look on his face, while Henry watched everything.

Henry was the first to spot her. “Hi Emma!” He said with a wave.

“Henry. What happened?” Emma asked.

Regina sighed as she said, “Ms. Swan, must I remind you that genetics mean nothing? You are not his mother and it's all taken care of.” 

Emma replied, “I'm here because I'm the deputy, and I was responding to a call about thieves.” 

“Oh, that's right. Go on, do your job.” Regina then grabbed Henry’s hand before sending a look at the two young kids. “Take care of those miscreants.” Regina then left the pharmacy with Henry. 

Emma rolled her eyes, and not for the first time wondered how Henry turned out so well being raised by such a bitch. Judging by the look she shared with Killian, he felt much the same way. 

Reminding herself that she was on official business, Emma turned to Mr. Clark. “Did you call their parents?” 

“Uh, the number they gave me was disconnected.” Mr. Clark answered in a hurry. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to double check inventory.” Mr. Clark walked away, but not before sending a glare at the two kids. 

Emma then walked over to Killian, keeping the kids in her sights. “You happen to catch their names?” 

Killian nodded at the kids as he said, “That one I believe is named Ava, and that one is Nicholas. Apparently, they tried to get Henry to unwittingly walk out of the store with those items over there.” 

Emma, unappreciative of the fact that these two kids tried to trick Henry into being a juvenile offender, turned her attention to the items in question. There she found that the kids had tried to steal chocolate bars...toothpaste, toothbrushes, and a comb? Something was up. “Did you guys give Mr. Clark a fake number?” Emma asked. 

Both Ava and Nicholas shook their heads. 

“Then why is it disconnected?” She questioned. 

“'Cause our parents couldn't pay the bill.” Ava answered in a wobbly voice.

Oh, she was good. Emma still caught the lie, but she was impressed by how convincingly Ava tried to sell that lie. Emma picked up the toothpaste they planned to steal. “You guys are just trying to help out, huh?

Ava nodded. “Please, please don't arrest us. It will just make things worse for our parents.” 

“I won’t arrest you.” Emma said, and she saw the palpable relief in both of the kids. “But I’m going to have to take you to them.” Both kids stiffened up. 

Mr. Clark then came back. “I knew it. I knew you two were responsible for the other thefts.” 

“What other thefts?” Killian asked. 

Mr. Clark held up an inventory list before showing it to Emma. “Look, in the last two months, I noticed something strange in inventory revenue. I should have known it was theft.” 

“Why didn’t you report this until now?” Emma asked Mr. Clark. 

“At first I thought I was misplacing things, but now I know the truth. Things are missing that haven’t been rung up - toothpaste, toothbrushes, some bags of food and some water bottles.” Mr. Clark then pointed a finger at Ava and Nicholas. “Looks like you two got sloppy.”

“We’ve barely gone to this pharmacy before.” Nicholas protested, and both kids began to vehemently deny any connection to these previous thefts. 

Emma made a motion to quiet them. She then turned to the owner of the pharmacy. “I’ll take care of it Mr. Clark. In the meantime, make a copy of your inventory list and send it over to Sheriff Graham.” She turned to the kids. “Come on. Let’s get in my car.” 

As Emma ushered the kids outside, Killian followed them. 

“Something doesn't seem right.” Killian said. 

“I know.” Emma replied in a lowered voice as she guided the kids into the car, closing the door once they were inside. “I’m going to take them home and see if someone actually opens the door, or if they wait until I’m gone to go somewhere else.” 

“They seem to be new at this.” Killian said. “They have school uniforms, but neither of them brought backpacks. They resorted to using Henry, and they were apparently caught on their first try. Whether or not their parents are involved, something might have happened recently.”

Emma, while impressed by his reasoning, couldn’t help but ask, “Are you a librarian or a detective?” 

Killian smirked. “I’m a regular Nancy Drew.” 

“What, no Sherlock Holmes?” Emma smirked back. 

Killian then took on a more serious look. “Mind if I come along?” 

Emma tilted her head. "Why?" 

Killian licked his lips nervously. “Because I understand their situation. My parents died when I was young, and I had...someone to look after me for a while, but then he died, and then I was on my own. I had nothing, and I had to survive somehow.”

Emma sympathized, but she was also a little surprised. Killian had never mentioned this before. She and Killian had talked somewhat about their pasts, mainly hers, so he knew she was a foster kid. Why hadn’t he ever told her. 

Then again, she’d never asked, and she knew how painful it was to talk about a past of being alone. 

She wanted to know more, but now wasn’t the time. She studied him for another moment, before nodding. "Get in." 

Killian immediately did so, and he was already secured in the passenger’s seat by the time Emma got in. Soon, they were off. 

Ava was the one who gave them directions, while Nicholas sat quietly next to his sister. Emma got the distinct impression that Ava was the one in charge, though that didn’t necessarily make Nicholas an unwitting accomplice. Whenever Emma or Killian tried to probe them with questions about their parents, Ava gave vague and disarming answers, like how their parents had trouble with jobs. Anyone else could assume that was their way of saying they were unemployed, but Emma knew that something was amiss. 

From what Emma saw, Killian had an easier time with getting the kids to open up. 

Killian asked, “What grade are you two in?” 

When Ava, for once, didn’t answer, Nicholas said, “Sixth grade.” 

Killian made an ‘Ah’ sound. “What’s your favorite subject?” 

“I like gym.” Nicholas said as his sister looked at him curiously. “We get to run around and stuff, but I really like it when we play ‘pigs in a blanket’.” 

“Really? Tell me more.” Killian said, and Nicholas began to talk about how ‘pigs in a blanket’ was a better game than tag, and how much he had trouble in English class. Nicholas seemed to perk up at Killian’s suggestion of coming to the library for tutoring lessons. 

“Ava, can we go?” Nicholas asked his sister. 

“I don’t know.” Ava said before asking Killian, “Will it cost money?” 

Killian huffed. “Of course not. Any time after school you’re available, just come on by. Henry brings along two friends with him. Just behave better than Declan,” Killian said the boy’s name with a level of contempt that made Emma suppress a smile, “and things will be fine.” 

“Does Henry hate us?” Nicholas asked nervously. 

"I highly doubt Henry is capable of hating anyone." Killian reassured the boy. 

Through the rearview mirror, Emma saw Nicholas give Killian a little smile. She also saw Ava consider this offer, but also seemed a little hopeful. “We’ll think about it.” 

Eventually, they pulled up in front of a house. “This it?” Emma asked the kids. 

Ava nodded, but when she saw Emma and Killian begin to unbuckle their seatbelts, she said, “Please, no. If our parents see you, they'll be so embarrassed.” 

Emma turned in her seat to face them more fully. “Did Henry tell you about my superpower?”

Ava shook her head. “We just met him.”

“I have the ability to tell when anybody is lying.” She told the kids. “Tell me the truth, money problems aside, is everything thing okay at home?”

Ava impatiently replied, “Yeah, we're great. Can we go?”

“Alright.” Emma conceded, and watched Ava and Nicholas got out of the car and walk towards the house. Emma began to drive out of view, and then she told Killian, “I’m going to turn the corner, find the nearest street parking, and then we’re going to follow them.” 

“You’re sure they don’t actually live there?” Killian asked, and quickly took off his seatbelt the minute Emma found a place to park. 

“Call it a hunch.” Emma said as they hurried out of the car. Sure enough, the minute they turned the corner, they saw the Ava and Nicholas running around the house into the backyard. “Let’s go.” She told him, and they began to discreetly follow the kids. Emma saw the kids go through a room in the back of the house. Emma sighed, and knew that wherever these kids parents were, they weren’t in the house. 

Emma and Killian went back to the front of the house, where Emma quickly picked the lock, and they were inside. They eventually spotted the kids climbing out of a trap door in the floor, and looking around for someone. 

“Why did you guys lie to me?” Emma asked, her and Killian standing side-by-side as the kids jumped around startled. “Where are your parents?” 

Realizing that the game was up, Ava admitted, “We don’t have any.” 

Emma felt a pang of empathy; oh how well she knew what that was like. “What happened to them?” Emma asked.

Nicholas’ face scrunched up in pain as Ava explained, “Our mom died a while ago.”

“And your dad?” Killian asked. 

“We never met him.” Ava said as she gave her brother a side-hug. 

“So, you’ve been staying here by yourselves this whole time?” Killian inquired, his voice strangely vulnerable. Emma caught a glance at him, and knew that although he was looking at the kids, his mind was somewhere else. 

Both kids nodded. 

Emma sighed, knowing that she would have to deal with this, but for now the kids needed to avoid getting into the foster system. She couldn’t hold it off forever, but the two of them were likely to be separated if they were put in there. Besides, from the looks of it, they needed a good meal, and the vending machine at the sheriff’s station wouldn’t suffice. “Come on.” She said. “Get in the car.”

“Are you taking us away?” Ava asked, and both kids looked worried. 

“We’re going to get something to eat.” Emma said. “Let’s go.” 

The kids did as they were told, and once they were in the car, Emma drove them all to the loft. The twins didn’t have much else to add other than their last names, and the name of their deceased mother, but they didn’t know anything about who their father might be. 

Mary Margaret was surprised by the two new guests, but nonetheless saw the hungry kids and quickly whipped up a meal of macaroni and cheese. The kids’ attention soon turned to their food, ravenously consuming it, and the adults walked a few feet away to talk. 

“Do you know them?” Emma asked Mary Margaret. “Do they go to your school?” 

“They said their names were Ava and Nicholas Zimmer.” Killian added. “They’re in the sixth grade. Would their teacher know?” 

Mary Margaret crossed her arms over her chest. “I wouldn’t know. I've seen them, but I had no idea. None of us did.”

Emma then said, “They also said that their mother was a woman named Dory Zimmer. Did you know her?”

Mary Margaret shook her head. “Who is their father?” 

“There isn’t one, at least not one that they know.” Emma said. 

“It seems their mother didn’t even give them a name.” Killian said. “They’ve been living in the storeroom of an abandoned house for some time now.” 

Mary Margaret gasped at the thought. She couldn't fathom that bad things could happen to children. “What did social services say?”

Emma paused, and shared a look with Killian.

Mary Margaret stated, “You didn't report them.” 

Emma whispered, “I report them, I can't help them. They go into the system.” 

“The system that's supposed to help.” Mary Margaret argued, lowering her own voice to a whisper.

“Yeah, says the woman who wasn't in it for sixteen years.” Emma said, looking at Mary Margaret and Killian imploringly. “Do you know what happens? They get thrown into homes where they earn meal ticket, nothing more. These families get paid for these kids and as soon as they're too much work, they get tossed out and all starts over again.” 

Mary Margaret couldn’t wrap her head around that. “But they're not all are like that.” 

“All the ones I was in.” Emma said. 

“Mary Margaret does have a point.” Killian said. 

“What?” Emma asked a little shocked. 

“Think about where we found them.” Killian said. “Let’s say that they’ve been getting their lunch at school, but Christmas break is coming soon. When the school shuts down for the holiday, they’ll lose another meal, and neither of them are old enough to work, at least not legally. That’s not even factoring in the fact that that house is abandoned, doesn’t have central heating, and it’s only going to get colder. Our best bet is hoping that their father didn’t skip town.”

“Are there any leads at all?” Mary Margaret asked. 

Emma said, “I’m going to swing by the clerk’s office and see if their mom at least put someone on the birth certificate.” 

Mary Margaret pursed her lips. “I hate to even say this, but...do you think he’ll want them?”

“I don’t know.” Emma said. “But what I do know is that it's hard enough finding foster families to take one kid that isn't theirs, let alone two. It's the best shot, or…” 

“We’re gonna be separated?” Ava asked, and the three adults turned to see that Ava was standing behind Emma, tears forming in her eyes. 

“No, that’s not gonna happen.” Emma promised.

“Please, please don't let it.” Ava pleaded. 

Emma felt sick at the thought. She had seen what the system had done to siblings. 

Ava returned to the kitchen counter, still upset, and Emma watched as Nick took on look at his sister’s face, and immediately stood up to hug her. 

Emma was going to do everything she could to keep them together. 

Killian, who had also been watching them, became just as determined to not let them be separated. He was barely a man when Liam died, but he’s not sure he would have made it that far if he and Liam were separated following their parents’ deaths.

Killian said, “If we’re going to sort through the legalities of the foster care system and gaining access to files, I think we need to call a lawyer.” 

And so, they did, and Ray met them at the clerk’s office. 

Ray greeted them. “You know, it’d be nice if the three of us spent time together without someone’s future hanging in the balance.” 

Emma gave him a tight smile. “We can all go out for drinks after this is over. For now, we’ve got some work to do.” 

The three of them entered the clerk’s office, and found a middle-aged male is working behind it. 

“Excuse me, Mr...Kry-zowski?” Emma trailed off as they approached the desk, trying to pronounce the name.

“It’s Krzyszkowski.” The man corrected, standing up to get closer to them. “Everyone calls me ‘K’.”

Emma leaned her elbows on the desk. “Mr. K, I am Deputy Swan. I'm hoping to look at the birth certificates of Ava and Nicholas Zimmer.”

Mr. K pulled out three forms. “Well, just fill out these forms, in triplicate.” He then stamped all three forms. 

Emma cautiously took the forms. “Okay.” 

However, it soon turned out to be useless, as Mr. K said, “I am so sorry. Those documents have been recently removed.” 

“By who?” Emma asked. 

“Um...Mayor Mills.” Mr. K said. 

“Of course she took them.” Killian said with a sigh.

“She walked away with the originals, not a copy?” Ray asked. When Mr. K confirmed that was true, Ray asked in an aggravated tone, “Why was she allowed to take the _only_ copies?” 

“She’s the mayor, what was I supposed to do?” Mr. K asked defensively. 

“Make. A copy.” Ray emphasized. 

“Great.” Emma sighed as she motioned the others to move out of earshot from Mr. K. “Okay, new plan. Ray, you can go, but if you could spare time to look over any custody laws that could delay social services that would be great. Killian, you can go back to your day, but if you can, go back to the loft.” 

“I take it you’re going to talk to Regina.” Killian guessed. 

“Yeah.” Emma groused. “This is going to be _great_.”

Emma’s next stop was Regina’s office at the town hall, and it went about as well as Emma expected. 

“Don't worry, Ms. Swan, you can relax.” Regina said. “I've contacted the social services. Turns out these kids are on their own. They need help.” 

 _Shit._ Emma thought, realizing that she was running out of options. “Which is exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to find their father.” 

“Well, he doesn’t exist.” Regina told her as she handed Emma a file. 

“He has to.” Emma replied. She opened the file, but found that neither Ava nor Nicholas’ birth certificates listed a named father. Everything else was there. Their birth dates, the name of their mother, what times they were born (Ava was born 7 minutes before Nicholas), but no father was listed. 

“Of course, biologically, he exists.” Regina amended. “But there's no record of him, which means we have no choice. These children need a home, so they will be put in the foster system.” 

This puzzled Emma. “Storybrooke has a foster system?”

"No, but I have contacted the state.” Regina said. “Maine's group homes unfortunately are filled, but they put us in touch in two homes in Augusta. Boy's home and a girl's home.” 

 _Shit shit shit_. Emma began to panic. “They're separating them?” 

“I don’t like it either.” Regina claimed. “But we have no choice. Sheriff Graham will take them to Augusta tonight.” 

 _Okay, Graham doesn’t know yet._ Emma reasoned. _Maybe I can buy Ava and Nicholas a little more time. I can’t exactly lie to him, but maybe I could convince him to play along._

“In fact, I’ll call him to make sure he knows what time he should pick the kids up.” Regina then picked up her phone and began dialing a number. She then sent Emma a cool smile and said, “Good day, Ms. Swan.”

As Emma left Regina’s office, she knew that she would either find the twins’ father by tonight, or she would end up breaking her promise.

* * *

Henry waited for the moment his mother had to go to work to leave the house, and go to the loft. He got a call from LJ that his uncle would be busy, and he’d gotten permission to hang out, so Henry suggested the loft (after getting permission from Mary Margaret of course). LJ said that he would look for Declan and bring him over as soon as he could.  
  
Henry was glad to get out of the house. Nancy hadn’t been around lately, and Henry was kind of glad for that. Fernando had apparently gotten sick, but the rumor going around was that he had been poisoned. Henry thought it was his mom at first, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Luckily, Fernando had left the hospital, and according to what he’d heard, he’d been getting better.

However, after Thanksgiving his mom’s usual disdain for Nancy turned into outright hatred. Any little misstep was taken as an insult. Henry had no idea what had caused this change, and apparently neither did Nancy. Henry almost wished that Nancy would quit just so she could get away from his mom. 

Henry put the mystery of that uncomfortableness in the back of his mind as Mary Margaret opened the door. “Hi Ms. Blanchard.” 

“Hello Henry.” Mary Margaret greeted. “Please come in.” 

Henry did so and hung up his coat. When he went to the kitchen though, he found two familiar faces there. “Ava? Nicholas?” 

The kids looked at him from their seats at the counter, halting their attempts to devour some cereal. Henry saw the plates near the sink, and saw that they had previously eaten something else, but apparently even that wasn’t enough for them. 

Henry heard someone knock on the door, and eagerly answered it. There he found LJ and Declan there. “Come in.” Henry said. 

Declan was shivering. “It’s getting cold and I hate everything.” 

Henry couldn't help but laugh at that. After LJ hung up his coat and left his backpack by the door, he began to explore the loft, Declan took off his outer coat and hung up the coat as well, putting his own backpack next to LJ’s. Henry couldn’t help but wonder if it was just his mind messing with his head, or if Declan looked a little skinnier than usual, and a little paler. 

Eh. Some food would take care of that.

Mary Margaret appeared into view just then. “Ah, hello LJ, Declan.” 

“Hi Ms. Blanchard.” Both LJ and Declan said in accidental unison, then stared at each other strangely. 

“Are you two hungry?” Mary Margaret asked. 

“Uh, yes.” Declan said, and he eagerly accepted a banana that Mary Margaret handed him, wolfing it down in record time. That’s when Declan finally noticed the two other kids that were in the loft, the twins sitting at the counter and watching them. “Who are you guys?” 

“Declan.” Mary Margaret said in an admonishing voice as Ava and Nick watched him warily. 

That’s partly what brought him to the loft. He 

Henry piped up, “This is Ava and Nick. Emma’s trying to find their dad.” 

Declan paused before saying, “Cool.” 

LJ then stepped forward to place his hands on Declan’s shoulders. “Sorry about my friend. His mom was a wolf.” 

Declan sent LJ a suspicious look and whispered, “Is that your way of calling my mom a bi-” 

“Uh, this is Declan,” Henry patted Declan’s back a bit too hard to stop his cursing, “and this is LJ. They’re my friends.” 

Ava and Nicholas seemed more nervous now, and Henry wondered why that was.

Nicholas hesitantly asked Declan, “Um, are you the same Declan, the guy who misbehaves at the library?” 

Declan narrowed his eyes. “Who says that?” 

“The librarian guy.” Ava said. 

“Jones.” Declan whispered darkly, though Henry couldn’t help but be amused. Declan then shrugged, and said in a more upbeat tone, “Eh, he isn’t _exactly_ lying.” 

While the kids looked confused, Henry asked, “By the way, what _are_ you guys doing here?” 

Ava said, “Deputy Swan’s helping us with something.” 

This peaked Henry’s interest. 

“What is she helping you with?” LJ asked as he took a seat next to them at the counter.

Ava and Nicholas shared shifty looks. 

“Is it something illegal?” Declan asked bluntly, before being silenced when Mary Margaret offered him some cereal as well. 

“Dude.” LJ admonished, though Declan was too busy eating his cereal too care. 

“LJ, Henry, would you like something to drink?” Mary Margaret asked, observing everything unfolding before her. 

“Juice please.” LJ said, and Henry echoed the statement. LJ then reached across the counter to nudge Declan, who quickly became annoyed at being interrupted. LJ then mouthed something at Declan, to which he got an embarrassed look on his face, and thanked Mary Margaret for the cereal. Turning back to Ava and Nick, LJ asked, “Can we help?” 

Ava shook her head. "No, it's...no, you can't help."

“Are you sure?” Henry asked curiously.

“My uncle’s a lawyer.” LJ piped up. 

“Maybe we should just tell them.” Nicholas offered before Ava shushed them. 

“Tell us what?” Declan said through a mouthful of food before Mary Margaret sent him a look. Declan swallowed the food and apologized. 

Mary Margaret then interceded. “Kids, if Ava and Nicholas don’t want to talk about it, then it’s their decision and you should respect it.” 

“Yes, Ms. Blanchard.” Henry, LJ, and Declan monotoned in unison. 

Mary Margaret was soon distracted by a knock on the door. Mary Margaret went over and opened the door, but judging by her confused expression, Henry knew that she didn’t know the person at the door. Henry quietly walked over there to investigate. There, he found a tall man, about a head taller than Mary Margaret, standing there with a straight back and stern look.

“Can I help you?” Mary Margaret asked. 

The man responded in a deep voice, “Ms. Blanchard, I’ve been requested by Mayor Mills to ensure the safety of Ava and Nicholas Zimmer.” 

“That’s alright, they’re fine.” Mary Margaret said in an unsure voice. 

“All the same, Mayor Mills considers their safety a priority, and as such, I shall be stationed outside your apartment until the sheriff comes to collect them.” The man said. 

“Collect them?” Mary Margaret asked in confusion, and out of the corner of his eye Henry saw Ava and Nicholas get off their seats.

“To take them to Augusta, where they will be put into foster care.” The man said, and Henry heard Ava and Nicholas gasp. “I shall be right outside.” The man said, and Mary Margaret took that as her cue to close the door. 

When Henry turned around, he saw that now Ava and Nicholas were close to tears. He went up to them. “That’s what you were worried about. My mom is trying to make you leave town.”

“And put us into foster care.” Ava added bitterly, though her face was scrunching up, like she was holding back tears.

"Deputy Swan said that she wouldn't let that happen." Nick said, though with some doubt in his voice. 

Mary Margaret tried to soothe them. “I’m sure this is a slight hiccup. Why don’t you all watch some TV?” She suggested as they ushered them all to the couch. 

Mary Margaret then went into another room, probably to call Emma or something, so Henry and his friends were left alone with Ava and Nicholas, who were close to tears and not paying attention at all to the show playing on TV. 

Henry knew why that man was outside. He was there to make sure that they couldn’t leave, at least willingly. There had to be a reason why his mom wanted them gone, or a way to keep them here. Henry turned his head towards Nicholas, who was sitting next to him on the couch. “Um, Nicholas-” 

“I prefer Nick.” Nick said softly. 

“Um, Nick, what happened to your parents?” Henry said, and felt bad when Nick sniffled.

“Mom died a few years ago.” Nick said. “We never knew our dad.” 

“So there’s a chance he’s still here, in Storybrooke?” Henry asked hopefully. 

“That’s what Deputy Swan was trying to do.” Ava added. “But if she doesn’t find him soon..” She didn't have to explain further, as all of the boys understood her meaning. 

Henry looked over, and was surprised to see pained looks on both LJ and Declan’s faces. They weren’t just sympathetic. From their expressions, Henry thought he saw a level of understanding in them that he couldn’t find in himself. 

Henry stood up and went over to get his coat on. 

“Where are you going?” LJ asked.

“I’m going to see Emma.” Henry said before looking at the twins. “One way or another, you guys are staying in this town.” 

 _After all,_ Henry thought, _their lives could depend on it._

* * *

Emma thought over the twin’s situation, and things weren’t looking good. Regina had given her a deadline, and unless she met it, her job could be on the line, and not even Graham could help her. 

She had to find their father or at the very least some relative who could claim them. 

Graham appeared at her desk. “I just called the hospital. I was hoping that someone might have seen a man around on delivery date, but unfortunately no one can remember anything that far back.” 

Emma rubbed her forehead. “There’s got to be some way to find this guy.” 

“If he hasn’t left town in the last eleven years.” Graham said. “Did Dory Zimmer have any friends we can talk to?” 

“I don’t think so.” Emma said. “Barely anyone remembers her. I don’t think anyone knew she was dead except for her kids.” 

Graham sighed, a sure sign that he was just as frustrated as Emma at the lack of leads. Graham crossed his arms over his chest, his mind stuck in contemplation. “We’re gonna have to figure it out soon, otherwise I won’t have any choice but to take them to Augusta.”

Emma winced. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance that you _don’t_ have to?” 

Graham said, “Mayor Mills made it exceedingly clear that if I defied her orders, I could kiss my job goodbye.” 

“And let me become the sheriff?” Emma asked incredulously. 

Graham answered, “She also made it clear that your job wouldn’t be secure if I were to go.”

“Damn.” Emma sighed. There had to be something they could do. No one went anywhere without leaving a trace, and Ava and Nicholas’ dad was no exception. 

That’s when Henry walked in. “Any luck finding Ava and Nick’s dad?”

“Henry, what are you doing here?” Emma asked. 

“Trying to help.” Henry said simply. “I think I know who they are. Brother and sister, lost, no parents. Hansel and Gretel.” 

Emma sometimes had to marvel at Henry’s timing. “And do you know anything about their dad?” She asked. 

“Just that he abandoned them.” Henry said. 

“Right, sounds like a familiar story.” Emma sighed. 

“He wouldn’t happen to be in town, would he?” Graham asked. 

“Of course he is.” Henry answered. “No one leaves Storybrooke. No one comes here, no one goes. It's just the way it is.” 

“I came here.” Emma countered. 

“Because you're special.” Henry argued. “You're the first stranger here, ever.” 

Emma looked at Graham, who simply said, “He’s right.” 

That was no help.

Graham went over to a nearby file drawer, and began sifting through it while Emma sat in her desk seat, trying to think of any ways to come up with a lead. 

Henry hesitantly sat on her desk. “Can...you tell me about him?” 

“I don’t know anything yet.” Emma said. 

“Not their father, mine.” Henry said, causing Emma to look up. “When you first came to town, you said things were complicated.” 

 _Oh shit._ Emma was not ready for this conversation. 

“Please.” Henry pleaded. 

She couldn’t tell him the truth. It was too much, too soon, and definitely not when they had a time crunch. Besides, Graham was still within earshot, and she did not want to have to explain everything that happened between her and Neal to too many people. She was trying to leave her past behind. 

Looking at Henry’s hopeful gaze, Emma also knew that she couldn’t tell a complete lie. So, she settled for a softer one. “I...met your dad when I was sixteen.” Emma started, and Henry scooted an inch closer in rapt attention. “I met him when I ran away from my last foster home, and we just...connected.” 

“Did you get married?” Henry asked excitedly. 

“No, nothing like that.” Emma said. “We did stay together for a while, and then when I was 18, I found out I was pregnant with you, but by then your dad and I already split.” 

“Why?” Henry asked. 

Emma answered, “Things just...didn’t work out. I didn’t realize I was pregnant until after he skipped town.”

“And you went to jail.” Henry guessed. 

“Yeah.” Emma confirmed. 

“Did you ever find him?” Henry asked. 

Emma shook her head. “He’s one of the few people I could never track down.” 

Henry said, “I’m sorry, Emma.” 

Emma reached over to gently rub his arm. “I’m fine kid.” 

Henry then asked, “Do you have anything of his? Something we could use to track him down? Maybe I could help.” 

Emma smiled at his sweetness, knowing Henry just wanted to help. “No, I don’t.” However, that gave her a great idea. “But...you just gave me a great idea. Graham.” 

“Yes?” Graham asked, and Emma knew that he had been making a valiant effort at trying not to eavesdrop. 

“I think we might have a lead.” Emma told him, and both Graham and Henry perked up. “And I think the twins have one without realizing it.” 

Emma took her car while Graham took his, and Henry rode in with her. Soon, they were at the loft, where a suspicious guy was standing a few feet away from the apartment. 

“Sheriff, are you here to take the Zimmers to Augusta now?” The tall man asked, and Emma didn’t miss the glare Henry sent him. 

“Not just yet.” Graham said as he knocked on the door, and the three of them hurried inside the minute Mary Margaret opened the door.

“Dude, you brought the cops?” Declan complained as soon as he saw them, before quickly waving at them. “Hi Emma, hi Graham.”

“Hi Declan.” Graham said with a tired smile, already used to Declan’s antics from the few times he’d seen him. 

Emma got to work grabbing a box from her things, and quickly taking out a blanket. She then went to Ava and Nick, who were sitting at the kitchen counter eating a cookie. Seriously, how much could these kids eat? 

“I want to show you guys something.” Emma said as she held up her baby blanket. 

“What’s that?” Nick asked. 

“It's my baby blanket, something I've held onto my whole life.” Emma told them, “It's the only thing that I have from my parents. I've spent a lot of time with a lot of kids in your situation. And all of them, all of us, we hold onto things. Graham and I want to find your father, but I need your help. Is there anything of his you've held onto?”

There was a pause before Ava said, “I might have something, but if I give it to you, you'll make sure we stay together, right?” She cast a suspicious glance at Graham. 

"We will do the best we can." Graham sent them a reassuring smile.  
  
Ava only became more suspicious.  
  
Graham squirmed under her gaze. 

Nonetheless, Ava took a compass out of her pocket, and passed it to Emma. 

“A compass?” Emma asked as she and Graham looked at it closely. 

“Our mom kept it.” Ava explained as Nick stated longingly at the compass. “She said it was our dad's.” 

“Thank you.” Emma said, and she and Graham prepared to leave. 

“Did you find them?” Ava suddenly asked. 

“Who?” Emma asked. 

“Your parents.” Ava clarified. 

“Not yet.” Emma told her, not ready to give up hope. “But I’m gonna find yours.” 

“Can I come?” Henry asked. 

“Not this time.” Emma said, though she bent down to be eye level with them. “I am giving you a job though. Keep Ava and Nick company. They could use some friends, and a distraction.” 

Henry seemed a bit out over not being allowed to join them, but conceded nonetheless, and soon he joined Ava and Nick. 

Emma and Graham were out the door. 

“You know why I’m thinking?” Graham prompted. “That compass is fairly old. And if there’s one person in town who might know something about antiquities-“ 

“It’s Gold.” Emma finished. 

The two of them soon got into their cars, and they were on their way.

* * *

Graham walked into Gold’s shop, followed soon after by Emma. 

Gold, who had been perusing some of the items kept safely away in their glass cases, turned to look at them. “Well, well. It’s not every day the sheriff _and_ the deputy takes time off their busy schedules for me. What can I do for you?” 

Emma placed the compass Ava had given her on the table in front of Gold. “We’re looking for information on this old compass. Any idea where it could’ve come from?” 

Gold took up the compass. “Look at the detail.” He said admiringly. “You know, this is crystal. This jewelled setting. Despite the rather unfortunate shape it's in, this is actually quite an unusual piece.” He then put the compass back down on the table. “The person who owned this obviously had great taste.” 

 _Well that amounted to almost nothing,_ Graham snarked in his mind. He refrained from rolling his eyes. "Do you know who might've owned it?"

Gold walked to another side of the ship behind the counter. “Well, I am good with names sheriff, but…maybe not that good.” Just before Graham could throw his hands up in near defeat, Gold continued. “However, as luck would have it, I do keep quite extensive records.” Gold opened a drawer, searching it before holding up a white card. “And, yes, here we are.” 

However, when Gold said nothing, simply staring at them, they all understood what he was conveying. 

Emma asked, “What’s your price?” 

“Forgiveness.” Gold claimed. 

“How about tolerance?” Emma snarked. 

Gold paused a moment before saying, “Well, that's a start. The compass was purchased by Mr. Michael Tillman.” 

Graham sighed in relief at their first real lead as Emma asked, “Anything else?” 

“Just a name, but I generally find that’s all one needs.” Gold said. “Good luck with your investigation.” 

Graham and Emma left the shop, and all he could think about was that they may stand a chance yet. 

That was until he bumped into someone on his way out.

“Oh, I’m so sor- Nancy?” Graham asked, steadying the woman as she clung onto her purse.

Nancy looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Graham?” 

“I’ll just...wait in my car.” Emma said awkwardly as she went to do just that, already seeing that something was going to happen. 

Graham wanted to follow Emma out the door, but something held him rooted to his spot. He hadn’t seen Nancy that often since Fernando ended up in the hospital. Graham had never felt more than when the doctors finally said that Fernando would recover, but that he would make a full recovery. 

The first time Graham visited the boy after Thanksgiving, the boy was weak but awake. He complained of stomach and throat pains, but said that he wanted to get out of bed already. He and Nancy would see each other at times, and although it was still clear that they wouldn’t be as close as they would like, they still talked and made conversation, especially in distracting Fernando from his pain. The circumstances were horrible, but there was a still a level of comfort they took in each other. 

That slowly died out over the coming days. Graham and Nancy had made sure to avoid being seen together, to avoid giving life to any rumors, but lately it just seemed like Graham couldn’t find Nancy if he _tried_. Maybe he was overthinking it, but something didn’t seem right to him. It was hard enough not being with her, but now he couldn’t even see her? 

Graham slowly released his hold on Nancy. 

There was a bit of awkwardness in their stances. 

Nancy eventually said, “Um, I just need to go inside.” 

“Into Gold’s shop?” Graham asked. “Why?” 

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” Nancy said snappily. 

“Sorry.” Graham said, holding up his hands in defense.

Nancy sighed guiltily. “No, it’s fine. I just…” 

It broke Graham’s heart to see the broken down look on Nancy’s face.

“What’s going on?” Graham asked gently. 

Nancy looked conflicted. 

“It’s alright.” Graham encouraged. “You can tell me.” 

And just like a dam, Nancy broke. “It’s Fernando.” She blurted out, though still mindful enough to keep her voice down. “His medical bills. Regina lowered my pay, said that my absence from her house on Thanksgiving showed my ‘lack of commitment’ to my job. I explained to her what happened, and she didn’t care. She said that I should have called. I have to pay the medical bills for Fernando, and I can’t scrounge up enough money that fast, even combining my pay with Alan’s. Now I have to hope that Gold will buy this for a high price.”

Nancy then took out a ring from her purse, one that had a pretty, singular jewel at the center of it. 

“It’s my wedding ring.” Nancy’s voice broke. “My husband spent half a year scrounging up enough to buy this for me, said that he wanted to give me an ‘honest ring’.” Nancy looked ashamed. “I kept this thing because it’s one of the few things he gave me that I have left, and now…” 

Graham didn’t know what to say. 

Nancy then suddenly asked, “Does she know about us? Regina, does she know? Did you tell her?” 

“No.” Graham immediately said. At Nancy’s unsure look, he firmly said, “I didn’t. Why would you think that? I care about you and Fernando. I would never risk Regina's wrath coming down upon you two." 

Nancy's expression became slightly guilty. "I just...she's been so much worse lately, and I just feel like it's more than the fact that I wasn't doing my job." 

Sadly, Graham agreed with her. Oh he certainly hadn’t told Regina. He’d sooner rip out his own tongue. However, an uncomfortable, niggling feeling in his brain told him that something big set Regina off. If it had been Emma or Henry, then she would have focused on trying to get back at Emma or keeping Henry to herself. No, something had to have happened, and Graham worried that Nancy was right that she might have figured something out. 

If that was the case, then it was worse than Graham feared if Regina was docking Nancy's pay, and putting Fernando's health at risk. What kind of person does that? 

There had to be something Graham could do, and at this point, he was genuinely beginning to worry about Nancy’s safety if she continued to say with Regina. But what could he do? 

Nancy sighed, putting the ring back in her purse. “I have to go. And from the looks of it, you and Emma need to be somewhere.” Without another word, Nancy entered Gold’s shop.

Graham so badly wanted to go in after her, but Nancy was right. He and Emma had somewhere to be. He was going to help Nancy and Fernando somehow, but first, he had to fulfill his promise to two kids who needed a father. 

Graham may have gone a bit over the speed limit, just a bit, to get to Michael Tillman. He recognized the name. Though Graham didn’t know him very well, Michael Tillman owned the car shop in town, so that helped things considerably. 

The minute he parked his car, Graham was out of his car, with Emma just barely catching up with his strides. Graham spotted the mechanic, and called out “Michael Tillman!” 

The man, who had been bending over the engine of a car, stood up straight. Recognizing Graham, he called on a young man to take over before walking closer to Graham and Emma.

“What can I do for you, Sheriff?” Michael asked. 

"We just need to ask you a few questions." Graham explained. 

“About what?” Michael asked. 

“Did you know a woman named Dory Zimmer?” Graham asked.

Michael thought on it for a moment. “Briefly. We haven’t talked in years.” 

“Did you know Dory Zimmer’s children?” Emma asked. When Michael shook his head, Emma said, “Well congratulations. You are probably the father of two kids.” 

“What?” Michael asked in surprise, and Graham wondered where the hell Emma learned her tact. 

"Twins." Emma continued. "Boy and girl. Their names are Ava and Nicholas Zimmer.” 

Michael looked between the two, probably looked for a sign that they were joking, but when they didn’t give him that he said, “That’s not possible.” 

“So you didn’t sleep with Dory Zimmer?” Graham asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

“I did, but...Dory wasn’t my...it only happened once.” Michael said.

“Sometimes once is all it takes.” Emma told him. 

“I met her when I was camping.” Michael tried to explain. “And, we um…no, it’s not possible. I don't have twins.” 

“Michael, I know this is a shock, but we don’t have enough time for a paternity test.” Graham told him. “Ava and Nick are going to be sent to Augusta tonight unless someone claims them.” 

“Sheriff, give me some leeway here.” Michael said as he walked a few feet away to work on a car. “How can I even be sure they’re mine without a paternity test?” 

He had a point, but then Graham heard Emma scoff softly. “Listen,” she said to Michael, “you have twins that have been homeless ever since their mother passed away. Your twins have been living in an abandoned house, because they don't want to be separated from each other. Your twins are about to be shipped off to Augusta, unless you stepped up and take responsibility for them.” 

Michael drew back his hand with a hiss, having injured himself on accident. “Look, I can barely manage this garage. I can’t manage two kids.” 

Emma pulled Ava’s compass from her pocket, and showed it to Michael. “Your daughter had this with her.”

Michael gently took the compass from Emma. “I lost this.” 

“Let me guess, twelve years and nine months ago?” Emma said, and Michael’s gaze went from the compass to Emma. “I know it's a lot, believe me, I know. A month ago, a kid showed up on my doorstep, I gave up for adoption, asking for help with…something, I ended up moving here for him.” 

“I heard about that.” Michael said. “It's the mayor's son, but staying in town is a lot different from taking him in.” 

Graham felt the conversation going in a direction he didn’t like.

"I know it's a lot." Emma said. "But they are just kids, and they need someone to take care of them and love them." 

Graham could see the hesitancy in Michael, and knew that he was about to break somehow. Graham also knew that it was likely that he might not go in their direction. Before Michael could say anything, Graham said, “Look, don’t decide right this second. Think it over. We’ll order a paternity test to confirm the truth.” Seeing Emma’s confused and somewhat outraged look, Graham firmly said, in a voice that left little room for argument, “Let’s go, deputy.” 

Emma unhappily went with him. The minute they were out of earshot, she asked, “What the hell was that? I almost got through to him.”

“No, you weren’t.” Graham countered. “He was hesitant, and he might have made a decision that wouldn’t be in Ava or Nick’s best interest.” 

“And if he doesn’t make a good decision by tonight?” She asked as they reached their cars. “By then it’ll be too late.” 

Graham swallowed, hoping that she was wrong and he hadn't just screwed up those kids futures.

* * *

Henry had to do something. He kept glancing at the time, and he knew that before long it would be nighttime, meaning that Ava and Nick would be taken away. 

He couldn’t let Emma take the Ava and Nick across the town line. It had been ridiculously easy to figure out that they were Gretel and Hansel, but that just made his worrying worse. After all, in the Enchanted Forest, they rejected his mom, they called her a horrible person, and that was probably why she wanted to hurt them so badly. 

He didn’t want to see what would happen to them or Emma if they crossed the town line. Who knows what would happen? They could end up seriously injured or worse. 

After Mary Margaret went out to get more food, Henry immediately went over to where LJ and Declan were. “Okay, we have a little time.” Henry said. “We’ve got to get the twins out of here.” 

“What? Why?” LJ asked.

“Because my mom’s making Emma take them to Augusta.” Henry said. “They’re gonna go over the town line. We can’t let them do that.” 

“Not that I approve, but unless we find some way to get rid of that guy outside, I don’t even know how we’d get out of them out of this apartment.” LJ noted. “Even if we did, where would we hide them?” 

“I have a place.” Declan piped up. 

“You do?” Henry eagerly asked. “Where?” 

“My house.” Declan said. “No one’s gonna find them.” 

“What about your parents?” LJ asked. 

“They’re not home.” Declan promised. “If we can sneak them out, I can take us to my house and we can stash them there.” 

“Stash us where?” Ava asked, startling the boys who didn’t realize she was right behind then.

Soon she was joined by Nick. “What’s going on?” He asked. 

“We’re breaking you out.” Declan said. 

“Where would we go?” Ava asked suspiciously. 

“You can stay at my house for awhile.” Declan told her. 

“Are you sure your parents won’t mind?” Nick asked. 

Declan rolled his eyes. “I promise, they will _not_ care at all.” 

“Are we sure about this?” LJ asked worriedly. “If we’re caught-” 

“LJ.” Henry said, catching his friend’s attention. “Emma and Graham might not make it back with their dad in time. If we don’t hide them somewhere, they’re going to be taken away. We can’t let that happen.” 

LJ looked conflict. He clearly wanted to help, but he was probably worried about getting in trouble again. “Okay.” LJ finally agreed, causing the other kids to smile in victory. “We’ve got to find a way to distract the big guy outside. Any ideas?” 

“Did he drive here?” Declan asked. 

“I don’t know, maybe?” Henry shrugged. 

Declan then looked through a window to the outside, before telling them to come over and keep watch of the cars. He quickly went out into the hallway, and several seconds later, one of the cars beeped. Declan then went back inside and asked them which one of the cars on the street beeped. After getting his answer, he went to get his back, and pulled out a very familiar glass shard. 

“You still have that thing?” LJ asked as he saw Declan gently handle the decorative glass shard that he pocketed in the mines, the same one from when they were all trapped. 

“Yep, and when the big guy outside runs out, you all need to run to the woods as fast as you can.” Declan told them. “I’ll catch up with you.” 

“Why is he going to run outside?” Ava asked. 

Declan then took on a devilish smile that slightly worried Henry. “Because I’m about to fuck up his car.” 

It was only after everyone already got their coats on that Declan became the first to leave the apartment. True to his word, he went up to the car they previously identified, and after making sure no one else was out on the street Declan, to their collective shock, slashed three of the tires on the guy’s car. After about half a minute, he picked up a rock, and threw it as hard as he could at the car. That caused the car’s alarm to blare, and Declan took off down the street. 

The big guy eventually ran down to the street, and the four of them took that as the signal to run. They ran down the stairs, and used a back door to get out of the apartment complex. They did as Declan instructed, and ran towards the woods. 

“Your friend is crazy!” Ava gasped as she ran. 

“Tell me about it!” Henry replied with a grin. 

Declan caught up to them, and began to lead them further into the woods, saying that he was taking them to his home. Eventually, after walking through the stark, winter air, Declan eventually came to a stop. Henry, while reclaiming his breath, caught sight of what was before them. It was a small shack, alone in the middle of the woods. One of the windows looked like it had a crack in it, but it was covered up by duct tape. 

“Everyone, this is my house.” Declan said as he opened up the door. “Come on in.” 

They did so, and Henry found that the inside, along with being small for five kids, was uncomfortably cold, and he already wished to be back in the loft. He spotted a single bed, and a shelf that held some canned food and bags of chips, as well as some bottled water, juice and milk cartons, and a bottle of half-finished soda. Under the bed were some blankets, along with other provisions that Henry swore still had price tags on them. Nearby was a small table with a single stool. 

Two questions nagged Henry’s mind: Where did his parents sleep? Also, where were Declan’s parents? 

“I know it’s not a lot, but it’s mine.” Declan said to the group before focusing on the twins. “You guys can hang out here until your dad comes for you.” 

In a flash, Nick hugged Declan and thanked him. 

Declan was clearly surprised by the gesture, but returned the hug, albeit a bit awkwardly. In a way, it was like he was almost confused as to why Nick was hugging him, though he didn’t disagree with it. 

“It’s only temporary.” Ava said as Nick released Declan from his hug. “Everyone’s going to be looking for us soon.” 

“You guys should get back then.” Declan directed that statement to Henry and LJ. “You can say I left first, and then you,” he looked at LJ, “left to walk back home, and you,” he looked at Henry “just went to the bathroom or something.”

That’s when Henry realized something, and he could’ve slapped himself for the mistake. “Uh oh. How are we going to talk to each other? How will we know when to give the signal?” 

“Oh, I think I’ve got something.” LJ said as he took off his backpack, opened it up, and then pulled out a box set of walkie talkies, and then some batteries. “I bought these with my allowance before I went to the loft. I was going to give you guys these for Christmas, so we wouldn’t run up the phone bill, but i figure now’s a good a time as any to do it.” 

Henry sighed in relief as Declan looked at LJ strangely. Mm, maybe strangely wasn’t the right word, but it looked like, similar to Nick’s hug, Declan didn’t understand why LJ was giving him a gift. 

They unboxed the walkie talkies and put the batteries in. After testing them out to make sure they worked, Declan kept one walkie talkie while LJ kept the other. 

“Cool. You guys better get back before they notice you’re gone too, if they haven’t already.” Declan said.

“Alright. See you guys soon.” Henry said after Declan gave them directions on how to get back, which were relatively simple. Henry and LJ waved them goodbye as Declan shouted, “And don’t tell anyone about this place!” 

There was no way Henry was going to do that. For one, he had a gut feeling that Declan was in a similar situation to Ava and Nick, and he didn’t want to risk his friend’s safety if he was sent over the town line. Secondly, this would make a great hideaway.

* * *

Emma barely paid attention to Regina berating the person she had assigned to watch the kids, because she was more concerned with the fact that Ava and Nick were missing. The only person who could tell them what may have happened was sitting right in front of her, and he wasn’t saying a damn thing. 

“Henry, are you sure you didn’t see anything?” Graham asked. 

Henry shook his head. 

Emma immediately sensed the lie, and she knelt in front of him. “Henry, this is serious. We need to find them before something happens.” 

“I don’t know where they are right now.” Henry claimed. Another lie. 

Emma sighed, “Henry.” She knew that he was lying, but she couldn't outright accuse him. More than that, Emma knew that Henry was trying to do the right thing by helping Nick and Ava, but he didn't understand that as a kid, he could be doing them more harm by hiding them. “Just...stay here.” 

Emma and Graham walked a few paces away. 

“So, did you lie detector catch anything?” Graham whispered to her. 

“Only that Henry’s lying about knowing where they are.” Emma said. “Without any proof, though, I can’t exactly accuse him of it.” 

“Maybe they went back to their old home.” Graham suggested, his voice a little louder now. “Or maybe another abandoned house. We should set up a grid and start searching.” 

“That’s a good idea.” Emma said. “We better start calling people.” 

Mary Margaret, who felt guilty about going out in the first place, immediately volunteered. She managed to get Ava and Nick’s school pictures and print them up in record time. Emma and Graham called several people, including Killian, Ray, Ruby (who incidentally came with her grandmother who was determined to help), along with a number of other people who heard about the missing kids. 

They search the different abandoned houses in the area, including the one Emma and Killian originally found them in, but they were nowhere in sight. That’s when Graham and Emma split people up to go around the town, pictures of the twins in hand, to see if anyone might have seen them.

That’s how Emma and Killian ended up at the Convent of the Sisters of Saint Meissa. She hadn’t been there since Halloween, as she wasn’t religious and it was a little out of the way. 

“I’m sorry.” Mother Superior said as she looked at the photos. “I haven’t seen these two.” 

“Do you know who else was here?” Emma asked. “Maybe they saw them.” 

Mother Superior shook her head. “Many of the sisters were around town, gathering things or making preparations for the holidays. I was here for most of the day, and our two wards came straight here after school.” 

“Your two wards?” Emma asked as Killian began to explore the convent. “You have kids that live here?”

“Yes.” Mother Superior said. “Phoebe and Mai have live with us for some time now.”

Hope began to rise in Emma. “If we find Ava and Nick, would it be possible for them to become your wards. 

To Emma’s disappointment, Mother Superior shook her head. “We’re already exceeding the patience of our landlord by housing Phoebe and Mai when we’re not technically supposed to.” 

“Why would the landlord object?” Emma asked. 

Mother Superior said, “Mr. Gold has never been fond of us, and he only agreed to let them stay if we paid more for rent.”

 _Ah, right._ Emma thought as a headache began to intensify. _I almost forgot that Gold owns the town. What would he have against nuns though?_

While Emma was talking to Mother Superior, trying to get more information about where the twins may have gone or who else she might talk to, Killian felt a tug on his pant leg. He looked down, and saw a familiar little girl looking up at him. 

“Are you the pirate from Halloween?” The little girl asked. 

“Actually, I was a sailor.” Killian corrected. “Don’t I know you?”

“I’m Mai.” The girl declared with a smile. 

“Ah, that’s right.” Killian said. “You were a fairy on Halloween, yes?”

“Yep!” The girl replied with a nod. 

Killian smiled down at her. "And a fine fairy you made." 

The little girl smiled shyly. Then she suddenly grabbed his hand. “I’m Mai. Want to see my sister?” She asked, already tugging him along to a place further down the corridor. 

“I don’t know, but...I might need your help.” Killian said before kneeling down to be eye level, showing her photos of Ava and Nick. “I’m looking for these two kids. Have you seen them?” 

The little girl shook her head before calling out, “Phoebe!” 

“What?” A voice replied, and within seconds a blonde teenage girl walked towards them, looking somewhat suspiciously at Killian as she pulled Mai closer to her. “Hi. Who are you?” 

“This is the pirate.” Mai said. “From Halloween.” 

“I’m Killian. Jones.” Killian introduced himself before showing Phoebe the photos. “Have you seen these two?” 

Phoebe looked at the photos before shaking her head. “No, sorry. Are they in some kind of trouble?”

“Sadly, yes.” Killian said. “They’re missing.” 

"What did they do?" Mai asked. 

“They didn’t do anything wrong.” Killian assured her. “They just need a place to stay.” 

“What about their parents?” Phoebe asked before hesitantly adding, “Did something happen to them?” 

“Their mother passed away." Killian told them. "We're trying to find their father." 

“So they’re...” Mai seemed to be trying to find the word, but when she couldn’t find it, she tugged on Phoebe’s skirt so that she would crouch down to her level. Mai whispered something in her ear, Phoebe whispered it back, and immediately Mai asked, “They’re orphans?” 

“Not if we find their father.” Killian said, and silently added, _And if he does right by them._  

“They can stay here.” Mai offered. “We can share our room.”

Phoebe shook her head. “Mai, you know the nuns can’t take anymore people.” 

“But we’re here.” Mai protested. 

“Only because Mother Superior had to beg Mr. Gold to let us stay.” Phoebe said sternly. “Don’t push it.” 

While Mai pouted, Killian felt resentment stir in him not only at the mention of Gold’s name, but also at his apparent stranglehold on the convent. That man had his hands in everything, and it only ruined peoples lives. 

“Killian.” Emma said as she approached him. “You get anything?” 

“It’s the princess!” Mai proclaimed as she pointed at Emma, who looked a little embarrassed as Phoebe made Mai stop pointing and whispered, “Pointing’s rude, we talked about this.” 

Mai huffed at Phoebe's admonishment. 

Killian shook his head. “We better search somewhere else.” 

“Let’s go then.” Emma said before awkwardly waving at the girls.

“See you later!” Mai called out as she and Phoebe waved, with Killian waving back at them.

Killian looked back at the girls and felt for them. They didn't have any parents either. It seemed to be going around a lot lately. Killian had gotten off relatively lucky because he was close enough to 18 that no one had the heart to send him away, though that by no means made things easier. Storybrooke didn’t have a foster care system, so any kids that didn’t have anyone to take care of them had to rely on the kindness of strangers. 

He felt the biting chill of the winter air on his skin. For Ava and Nick’s sakes, he hoped they were somewhere warm.

* * *

“Are they gonna find them?” Mai asked Phoebe once the pirate and the princess were out of earshot. 

“I hope so.” Phoebe replied, worried about the two missing kids. She could sympathize. If she were desperate enough, she might run away too if the alternative was separating from Mai. “Things are scary when you’re alone.” 

Mai looked up at her sister, and saw her worried face. Then she hugged her to make her feel better. “You’re not alone.” Mai said. “You’ve got me.”

Phoebe smiled and hugged her back. “Yeah, and you’ve always got me.” 

Mai smiled widely at that. If they just got parents, ones that were alive and didn’t leave, then they’d have a bigger family. For now though, it was just Mai and Phoebe (and Astrid and Mother Superior, even though they weren’t their moms). For now, Mai was content.

* * *

Ava rubbed her arms, trying to cause some friction to warm herself up. She hated the cold. There was nothing worse than being homeless or taking shelter during the winter and not having any central heating. 

She wondered how Declan managed to last this long. 

Declan got up and grabbed a blanket from under his makeshift bed. He then brought them to Ava and Nick. “Here. This one is big. You two can share it.” He then helped wrap it around the two of them. He then handed Nick a bag of chips. 

“Thanks.” Nick said. “Where did you get this stuff?” 

“Around.” Declan said vaguely. 

 _He probably stole it._ Ava thought. She also thought about how this was only a temporary thing. Not only was it implausible for the three of them to live in this shack, but she also knew that it would start snowing soon. And with that, it would get colder and colder. Eventually, she and Nick would have to go back. Ava’s heart was torn at the thought of being separated from her brother, but she would rather have them separated them risk Nick starving or freezing to death. 

Declan then grabbed yet another blanket from under his bed, and began to eat from another bag of chips.

Again, Ava figured that he probably stole this, and that’s when it hit her. “You were behind the robberies at the pharmacy, weren’t you?” 

Declan looked at her, but then just shrugged. “I can’t exactly pay for some stuff. I don’t even have a job.” 

“Why are you here?” Nick asked.

“It’s because I don’t have parents.” Declan said simply. 

“What happened to them?” Ava asked. 

Declan remained silent.

Nick then gently asked, “Are they gone?” 

Declan shrugged again. “Who knows? It’s not like I need them.” 

Ava wasn’t so sure about that. Ava knew that Declan, like them, couldn’t stay here forever. "How come you kept telling everyone that you have parents?" Ava asked him. 

Declan shrugged, trying to play it off but Ava could tell it bothered it. “I _do_ have parents. I just don’t know where they are, but if anyone else knows that I don’t live with them, then _I’m_ the next one to go to Augusta. Besides, I’ve been doing fine on my own.” 

With Declan's words, Nick and Ava stopped questioning him. They wouldn't want to place him in the same situation that they were currently in, and silently agreed to keep their mouths shut if they were caught and anyone asked. 

If their dad took them in, they would try to help him somehow. If that didn’t happen, which Ava really hoped it would, then Declan wouldn’t survive the winter alone.

* * *

It was getting darker, and everyone was on high alert. None of the abandoned houses turned up anything, and they were already doing a preliminary search of the woods. Unfortunately, she was more worried about the fact that Ava and Nick only had the clothes off their backs the last time she saw them, and she didn’t know how much of an effect exposure to the elements would have on them.

Graham rolled out a map of the woods on the hood of his car. “We’re going to divide up the search parties in each of these areas. Remember, when you call out their names, allow a pause for them to answer.” 

Graham continued explaining the logistics of the search plan when Emma spotted Michael Tillman walking towards them. Emma walked over to him. 

Michael didn’t give Emma a chance to ask any questions, as he immediately said, “I heard the kids were missing.” 

“You here to help with the search?” Emma asked. 

Michael nodded. He then said, “Look, I admit, this whole thing was a shock. I didn’t know how to react to having two kids. But after what you guys said, and learning that they were missing...I want to make things right.” 

Emma tried to stop a smile from blooming on her face, knowing there was a time and a place for that. However, she felt a strong sense of relief that Michael, despite the obvious shock, was willing to at least try to make a life for his kids. Emma then said, “We’re going to find them. Come on, the search parties are going to start forming.” 

Emma then guided Michael to where the groups were indeed beginning to form. Even though she said that they were going to find them, she silently added, _I hope they’re found alright_.

* * *

Henry and LJ had been left with Ashley and the baby. Everyone was in such a scramble to find the twins before the day ended that the moment Ashley volunteered to look after them, everyone just accepted it. Besides, Sean was one of the volunteers, and both he and Ashley wanted one of them to look after Alexandra as well. The last Henry saw of Sean, he and Dada were heading to another part of town to look for Ava and Nick. 

Henry hoped that no one would check the woods too closely, though he knew it was only a matter of time. 

Ashley was heating up a bottle for Alexandra, as well as making something for them to eat, and she even let them hold the baby. 

Henry, to the best of his recollection, had never held a baby before. Alexandra was only a month old, but she was heavier than Henry expected. She was still kind of bald, but he could see that she had a little tuft of blonde hair on her head. She wasn’t exactly mobile, as the most she could do was move her arms and legs a little, and holding her head was highly important. After a while, Alexandra starting making unhappy sounds, and LJ convinced Henry to pass her over. 

LJ held her with ease, and even rocked her a little in his arms to calm her down. Catching the astonished look on Henry’s face, LJ laughed a little. “Ashley and Sean come over to our house sometimes with Alexandra, and I’ve had practice holding her. I was kind of freaked out the first time I did it. Babies are surprisingly heavy.” 

“I know right.” Henry smiled. He thought over the events of the day, and realized that in all of the craziness, holding a baby didn’t even register to him as a possibility. He hadn’t even realized that LJ’s family and Ashley’s family were familiar enough with each other that his friend could get used to holding their baby. This brought up another question, one that had bugged Henry for awhile but he didn’t know when to ask it. Now was a good as time as any. “Hey, LJ?” 

“Yeah?” His friend replied as he settled more in his chair, Alexandra gurgling in his arms. 

“What happened to your parents?” Henry asked, causing LJ to look at him in surprise. “You never really talk about them.” 

LJ’s face took on a more somber look. “There’s not much to say. I never knew them.”

Henry felt bad about not having asked before. Sometimes he forget that Ray _wasn’t_ LJ’s dad. “Never?” He asked gently. 

“No.” LJ replied softly. “My dad left before I was born. Mom left...a couple of weeks after I think.” 

“Why?” Henry asked, his heart clenching at the idea that anyone could just leave their kid like that. Emma had given him up for adoption, but that was because she wanted to give him his best chance. That wasn’t the same thing as just...leaving. 

“I don’t know. Ray doesn’t really know either.” LJ shook his head, his eyes drifting away. His voice was soft, but the vulnerability in it was clear. “I just don’t know.” 

The phone on the wall began ringing, halting their conversation as they watched Ashley over to answer it.

“Hello?” Ashley greeted. “Hi Emma.” A pause. “Yes he’s here. Okay.” Ashley then said, “Henry, Emma wants to talk to you.” 

Henry walked over and took the phone from Ashley, briefly watching as she went to take Alexandra from LJ. “Hello?” He asked. 

“Henry, I know you know where Ava and Nick are.” Emma said, and before he could lie, she continued, “I wanted to tell you that their dad is here, and he wants to take them in.”

“He does?” Henry asked happily. 

“Yes, he does.” Emma confirmed before lowering her voice. “So you need to tell me where they are.” 

Henry opened his mouth to tell her, but then paused. He promised Declan he wouldn’t tell, or at least he did so in his head, but it still counted. Also, if Declan was in the same situation as Ava and Nick, then telling everyone where he lived would land him in the same mess they were in now. “I can’t tell you.” Before Emma could protest, he continued in a quieter voice, “But I let them know that they can come back.” 

“How?” Emma asked. “You know what, just please tell them to come back and quickly.” 

“Okay, I will. Bye.” Henry said as he hung up the phone. 

Ashley was busy feeding Alexandra, so he silently waved LJ over, and also motioned for him to bring his backpack. LJ did so, and when he approached, Henry whispered, “Call Declan. Tell him it’s safe to bring back the twins.” 

“You sure?” LJ asked. 

“I’m sure.” Henry said. “Emma called and said that their dad wants to take them.”

“Alright.” LJ said, and he and Henry went to a more secluded part of the apartment where Ashley hopefully couldn’t hear them. Once they did so, LJ activated his walkie talkie. “Calling Delinquent, come in Delinquent, this is Goody Two-Shoes." 

There was a brief crackle before Declan replied, “Goody Two-Shoes, this is Delinquent. Over.” 

“You know we don’t have to do the ‘over’ thing, right?” LJ snarked. 

Declan replied, “Ugh, fun ruiner. Anyways, is it safe to bring back Action Girl and Sweet Tooth?” 

Henry thought he heard someone in the background asked, “Those are our codenames?” 

LJ responded. “Mission is a go. Bring them back.”

“Copy that.” Declan said before adding, “Over.” 

LJ rolled his eyes, but Henry could tell he was just as happy about this development as he was. 

It was maybe fifteen minutes later that Sean came back home, telling Ashley that the twins just showed up in the middle of town. _Apparently_ , they panicked over the thought of being separated, and ran off but got lost in the woods, and it took them awhile to get back. He also said that their father accompanied them to the hospital to get checked out by the doctors. 

Henry and LJ high-fived each other behind the couple’s backs.

Soon enough, Ray took LJ back home, and Emma came to pick him up. They got in her car and began to drive. 

“At least Ava and Nick are with their dad.” Henry said, happy that things worked out for the best. 

Emma gave him a side glance. Henry knew that she wasn’t happy with him for keeping the twins’ location a secret, but he wasn’t about to tell her where they really were. He hadn’t gone through all this trouble to get one of his friends in trouble. 

Emma parked the car at one of the sidewalk before turning in her seat to look at him. “Alright kid, enough’s enough. Where were they?” 

Henry shrugged. 

“Henry.” Emma said seriously. “Do you remember the last time you lied to me?” 

Henry’s mind immediately went back to the mines, and he hesitantly nodded. 

“And what did you say?” Emma prompted. 

Henry reluctantly answered, “That I wouldn’t break a promise again.” 

“Yep, and by extension that you wouldn’t start lying again.” Emma said. “Look, I know you wanted to help them, but think about what could have happened if we hadn’t found them. They could have gotten sick from the cold, or worse.”

“They would have definitely been worse if they were taken over the town line.” Henry said. “No one can leave this town except you or me, and that’s because we were born outside of it. The only other person that can is my mom, and that’s because she cast the curse.” 

Emma was going to say something when she, along with Henry, was distracted by a loud sound. A sort of _vroooom_ sound nearby, and it was only when he looked ahead at the road that he saw what it was. A man riding a motorcycle, and he pulled up next to them, on Emma’s side of the car. 

Henry didn’t recognize this man, who pulled down the fabric that covered his face, showing that he was a man around Emma’s age. 

He waved at them through the window, and reluctantly, Emma lowered the car door side window.

“Hi.” The man said with a smile, which caused the tiniest wrinkles to appear at the corner of his blue eyes.

“Hi.” Emma replied warily. 

“Is this Storybrooke?” The man asked. 

 _He doesn’t know where he is?_ Henry thought. _How can he not know?_

“Yeah.” Emma told him. 

“Any place to get a room around here?” The man continued. 

 _He’s not from here?_ Henry thought excitedly. “Uh, you’re staying?”

“That's the plan.” The stranger nodded. “I'm just looking for a bed.” 

Emma told him about Granny's Bed and Breakfast, and gave the stranger directions. The man thanked him, and soon revved up his motorcycle.

“Hey, I didn’t catch your name!” Emma said. 

“That's 'cause I didn’t give it.” The stranger teased, and soon drove off on his motorcycle. 

Henry and Emma stared off in the direction the man went.

“I thought you said strangers don't come to Storybrooke.” Emma told him.

“They don’t.” Henry said, his mind wrapping around the possibilities of what this could mean. Was the curse weakening enough that any random stranger could walk in? Wait, how did the stranger know the town’s name? Storybrooke wasn’t on any map. No, maybe he just saw the name on the sign. 

Still, Henry smiled. This stranger’s presence meant something big, and he was going to find out what it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ava and Nick are with their father, we learned new things about Declan and LJ, and August has finally come to town. 
> 
> What did you think? Let me know in your review!
> 
> See you same time next week!


	13. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, a storm hits, and people that don’t normally talk (or have been trying to avoid each other) have to stay together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a comment or kudos.
> 
> Special thanks to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter. 
> 
> Disclaimer: As usual, everything canon is owned by Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and Disney, can’t forget them). 
> 
> Enjoy!

  _December 6, 2011_  

Mary Margaret said goodbye to Emma after having breakfast, and began her walk to the school. Things had been very hectic yesterday, and Mary Margaret still felt guilt over not keeping a better watch on the kids, but everything turned out alright. She’d keep a lookout for Ava and Nick at school. 

She was excited for the day at school, but that changed as soon as she bumped into someone. An apology died on her lips when she saw that it was David, who had reached out to steady her. The pair immediately stepped away from each other. 

“Hi.” David said, looking at her with a small smile growing on his face. “It’s nice to see-”

Mary Margaret felt bad about not letting him finish, but she immediately walked around him and began to speed walk away.

“Wait, what’s wrong?” David asked, and Mary Margaret heard him following her.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just have to hurry to class.” Mary Margaret rushed out without looking back. Things had _finally_ died down to the point where people weren’t always pointing at her, whispering nonsense like how she and David were still sleeping with each other behind Kathryn’s back. 

David grabbed her arm, obviously not buying the lie. “Just wait a minute.” 

“Let go of me.” Mary Margaret immediately ordered.

The next second David released her with an apologetic look. “Sorry. I just haven’t seen you in a while, and then you start running off-” 

“Can you blame me?” Mary Margaret asked him. “People have finally started focusing on things that don’t revolve around the rumor about us.” 

David grimaced. “I know things got...uncomfortable for you, and I swear I did _not_ start that rumor. I didn’t say anything to Kathryn or anyone else, but...I still want to see you.”

“David.” Mary Margaret sighed. “I don’t think we can.”

“Why not?” David pleaded. “We can still be friends.”  

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Mary Margaret said, keeping an eye out for anyone that might see them and think the worst. “David...what we feel for each other, _if_ we have those feelings for each other, it just can’t happen. The rumors are bad enough, but I will _not_ risk breaking your _wife’s_ heart. I don’t know Kathryn that well, but I know that she doesn't deserve that.” Then, more softly, Mary Margaret said a sorrowful, “Goodbye David.”

Mary Margaret then turned around and walked in the direction of the school, and this time David didn’t follow her, nor did he call out to her. Mary Margaret didn’t risk looking back. She felt her heart clench at the idea of completely cutting herself off from David. Whatever else had happened, she had always enjoyed David’s company, save for the night he chose to be with his wife.

And that was the point. David had already made his choice, and Mary Margaret wasn’t going to suffer from another fallout.

* * *

Henry didn’t think it was a coincidence that the stranger stopped to fix his motorcycle in front of Henry’s house _._ Just like how Henry didn’t believe that the stranger was really just a random guy who happened upon their town. He seemed...too aware of everything. Oh, he was smart enough not to give anything big away, but something just seem way too calm about him. 

Okay sure, if he _was_ a random guy, then this was just another small town. To Henry though, there was just something…

“Maybe he _is_ just a random guy.” LJ said as he passed the ball the group was playing with to Declan. 

Declan seemed to have been spacing out, but managed to catch the ball before it hit him in chest. 

“Come on.” Henry protested as Declan tossed him the ball. Henry continued the cycle as he said, “When’s the last time a stranger came into town?” 

“Uh…” LJ trailed off as he continued the game. “I don’t know, but this place is kind of out of the way.” 

“So are most towns in America.” Henry argued. “But they still get at least one stranger once in a while. I bet you can’t remember any strangers coming here.” 

“And you think it’s because of the curse.” Declan stated, and Henry couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Declan still didn’t seem to believe in the curse. 

“Curse or not, you should be careful.” LJ warned him. “This guy came in from out of nowhere. And by your curse’s logic- don’t look at me like that.” LJ said as Henry huffed and pouted at LJ’s lack of belief as well. “Anyways, who knows if this guy is actually working for your mom, or Gold, or some other villain that’s here.” 

Henry knew that LJ had a point. 

That’s when Ava and Nick joined them, and Henry was so distracted by this that he accidentally got hit in the face by the ball. “Ow.” He groaned as Declan began to apologize. 

The twins winced in empathy. 

“Hi guys.” LJ greeted while sending concerned glances Declan's way. “How’re you?”

“We’re fine.” Ava answered for herself and her brother. “Can we play with you guys?” 

They were all fine with it, and the five of them began to take turns at the tetherball pole. 

“So how have things been going with your dad?” Henry asked. 

“Good.” Ava said as she hit the ball, only for Declan to serve it back, albeit it weakly. Unless he was mistaken, he thought Declan was already running out of breath. 

“He’s still kind of nervous.” Nick added, then brightly added in a quiet voice, “At least we’re together.” 

Ava hit the ball hard, and Declan was so tired that he just let the ball wrap around the pole. Ava then said to Declan, “By the way, thanks for letting us stay in your house.” 

“No problem.” Declan said as he exchanged places with LJ, who looked at him worriedly. 

"Still, thanks." Ava said, and Henry could tell from the look on her face that she was a little worried too. 

Nick whispered to Henry, “He was falling asleep in class.”

“He was?” Henry asked. 

Nick nodded. “The teacher threatened to send him to detention, and Declan didn’t even swear at him.” 

In any other context, that might have been humorous, but right now Henry was just worried. Last night, after Ava and Nick went to their dad, Emma had warned him about what might have happened to them if no one found them. At first, Henry thought it was just the cold, but now he was worried that maybe food would be a problem for Declan. He saw that Declan had bags of chips and stuff in his shack, but would that be enough? 

Maybe Henry would just skip a few lunches for the next few days. That way Declan could have more to eat. As for other meals, Henry would figure something out.

* * *

“Come on, tell me who he is.” Killian couldn’t help but tease his employee. 

“What are you, 16?” Dada countered. “Besides, it’s no big deal.” 

"Ha." Killian scoffed. “If it’s no big deal, then why are you so eager to rush out of here the minute your shift’s over?”

Dada's face reddened instantly as she stammered, “It’s not...look, we met on Thanksgiving. We spent some time together, and we had fun.” 

This intrigued Killian. He hadn’t missed how tight-lipped Dada had been about what she did on Thanksgiving, and he had worried that she had spent it terribly alone. “Oh?” 

Dada nodded shyly. “Yeah. He was alone too, and still kind of a recluse now. I just kind of decided to go for it, you know? Kind of like what you and Emma did.” She then hastily added, “Not that it’s _exactly_ like that. We weren’t giving each other burning looks.” 

Killian sent her an unimpressed look. 

“Hey.” A new voice asked out of nowhere, causing both Killian and Dada to jump in surprise. Killian turned and saw that it was Phoebe, one of the girls from the convent. “Sorry about that. I was hoping someone could help me.” 

“Sure.” Killian offered as Dada turned around to hide her reddining face. “What do you need?”

“I forgot a book I need for my next class, and going back to the convent would take too long.” Phoebe then described the book she needed. 

Killian began to help her find it. 

“By the way, I heard those two kids were found.” Phoebe said. “Are they okay?” 

Killian nodded. “They are with their father now.”

“That’s good.” Phoebe said, bouncing on her feet, both happy with the twins’ success at joining their father but also impatient to get back to school. “It’s good they get to be a family.” 

The longing, however subdued, caught Killian’s attention. “Everything alright?” He asked her. 

Phoebe seemed to be shaken out of a stupor. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I just really need to get back.” 

“Here we are.” Killian said as he found the book she needed, and began the process of checking it out. 

Phoebe hesitated. "Mr. Jones, do you have parents?" 

This halted Killian. “Why do you ask?” 

Phoebe shrugged, an embarrassed look growing on her face, stammering as she tried to answer him. “It’s just…I don’t know, I just kind of thought you understood stuff.” By now her cheeks were rosy, and she avoided eye contact. 

Killian took pity on her. “No, I don’t have parents. They died when I was young. Younger than you are now.” 

Phoebe looked at him not with pity, but with empathy. “Sorry about that. Who did you stay with?” 

Killian didn’t keep eye contact, and instead continued checking out her book. “My brother. He was older than me, already an adult by that point, and he became my guardian.” 

“Where is he now?” Phoebe asked, the pink in her cheeks fading away, looking around the library as if Liam would show up any minute. 

Killian shook his head, softly saying, “He died a few years ago.” 

Phoebe looked heartbroken for him. “I’m so sorry.” She said, a little touch of horror in her voice.

Killian wondered if he she was thinking of Mai, and Killian couldn’t help but make comparisons. From what he could guess, they had the roughly same age gap that he and Liam had. They lived in the convent, so their parents were out of the picture. All they seemed to have was each other. He wondered what became of their parents. 

His heart ached at the thought of these two little girls lost in the world. After all, the convent could just barely keep them. If Gold had his way, the girls would be out in the streets. Then where would they be? 

Killian simply said, “Don’t worry about it. Besides,” Killian handed her her book, “you need to get to class.” 

Phoebe seemed to remember her original purpose in coming to the library, and clutched the book closely before running off. Before Killian could even warn her about running, she came back and rushed out, “I might see you later, bye!” 

And with that Phoebe ran out of the building, though from the sounds of it she barely avoided running into someone. Soon enough, a familiar face came into view. 

“Ray!” Killian greeted with a smile the man stepped closer. “What are you doing here?” 

Ray took on a mock affronted look. “Can’t I simply come back to say hello to a friend?”

“You’d have to buy me a drink first.” Killian teased as he leaned against the front desk.

Ray leaned forward. “I seem to recall someone promising me a drink after the Zimmer affair.” 

“That was Emma, not me.” Killian said. 

“Well, you were there, so it still counts.” Ray teased back. 

Killian then said, “Speaking of which, I heard that Michael Tillman came to you for help in starting the adoption process. Is it adoption if they’re your kids?” 

Ray replied, “I’m just helping him affirm his parental rights. Once the paternity test comes in, the finalization process should pass relatively easily, barring any new relatives coming into the picture. At least those kids will have a place to stay during the storm tomorrow.” 

Ah yes, the storm. No one knew how big it was going to be, but the general advice that seemed to be going around was fairly simple: Don’t stay outside.

Ray then oh-so-subtly continued, “You _could_ take shelter in the sheriff’s station if you happen to be too far from your apartment. Just to be safe.” 

Killian quipped, “You’re a smooth lawyer but you’re a subtly is worth shit.”

Ray simply raised an eyebrow with a proud look on my face. “Oh, so you think I’m smooth?” 

"Now, now Ray, I'm almost spoken for." Killian replied with a smile on his face. 

“ _Almost_ spoken for?” Ray teased. “Things are going well then?” 

Killian shrugged. “I’d say so. It’s too soon to tell though.” Killian certainly wouldn’t object to moving things forward. 

Ray simply said with the same levity as before, “Stay strong. You may even get somewhere.” 

Killian rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have some case to review?” 

“Fine!” Ray huffed comically. “I see how it is. You only want me for my brains, is that it?”

"Well we all know that I'm the good looking one." 

Ray again took on a look of mock offense. “How _dare_ you?” However, he couldn’t say that with a straight face, and both men chuckled. Ray then said, “One of you still owes me a drink.” 

Killian waved him away as Ray eventually left on his own. That just left Killian alone with his own thoughts again. He wondered why Henry wasn’t here today. He usually was by this time. His best hope was that Henry was finally spending more time with friends his own age that a librarian in his 30s and a teenage girl. 

That made Killian wonder if perhaps it was time to branch out his horizons as well.

Perhaps he should get Ray that drink and drag Emma, and perhaps even Graham, along. A night of revelry couldn’t hurt, and it would certainly do something to raise everyone’s moods. Something was stirring in the air, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was. His instincts never betrayed him before, however, and he wasn’t about to ignore them now. 

He’d keep an eye out for any trouble.

* * *

There was always certain consistencies when it came to being a teacher, and paying out of pocket for school supplies for her class was one of them. The school could always try to manage its budget better to give more supplies to class, but hey the gym _really_ needed an upgrade. Then again, judging by the state of the gym, Mary Margaret wasn’t sure how much money was going into it. 

So, she would have to make due, as she always did. 

As she did so, Mary Margaret tried to push David out of her mind. She had made the right decision. It would just be better for everyone if they didn’t interact. Things were getting back on track, and she wasn’t about to ruin that progress now. 

Besides, it wasn’t like David encompassed all of her thoughts. There were other things to think about, like how much it filled her heart with joy over how much progress Emma was making. Oh, her roommate would deny it, but Mary Margaret knew that the Thanksgiving she threw had an effect on her. Emma was awkward, and perhaps a touch overwhelmed by the people there, but nonetheless she seemed to be enjoying herself. What’s more, Emma seemed to be a little more intune with the idea that things like having a home for the holidays could be a possibility for her. 

Aside from that, there were other things that had Mary Margaret’s attention, like the upcoming storm for instance. It would happen tomorrow, but still, she wanted to be prepared. She hoped to get some supplies like candles or flashlights, just in the power went out, along with the class supplies before anything happened. 

Mary Margaret went into the next aisle and spotted a familiar face. “Hello, Declan.” She greeted. 

Declan stood upright, immediately hiding something behind his back. He eyed her with the same look her students would give her whenever they saw her outside of class, like they weren’t sure if it was right for a teacher to be anywhere outside of school. 

Mary Margaret was suspicious of what he was hiding. “What are you doing?” She asked as she walked closer to him. 

“Nothing.” Declan said. 

She couldn't help but feel like he was lying, because as a teacher, she tended to pick up on cues, and Declan's expression belied his words. “Then what’s that behind you?” She asked.

Declan looked tempted to lie again, but realizing that the lie would probably get him nowhere, he sighed and showed it to her. It was a bag of Goldfish crackers, one that Declan didn’t look ready to let go of. 

Mary Margaret said, “That doesn’t look like nothing.” 

Declan said, “I wanted to get it, but I don’t have enough money.” His eyes drifted away from hers, but then didn’t seem to be focusing on anything. 

Mary Margaret felt worried. “Declan, is everything okay?” Declan didn’t respond, so she said his name again. 

He blinked as if he didn't realize where he was for a moment. “Sorry, what’d you say?” 

“I asked if everything was alright.” Mary Margaret said, her eyebrows creasing softly in worry. 

“Yeah, they’re fine.” Declan said. “Just haven’t been getting a lot of sleep.” Just then, Declan’s stomach grumbled loudly. “Crap.” Was all he said before he raced to the boy’s bathroom, thoughtlessly dropping the bag of crackers on the way. 

She watched him run off, concerned for his well being. Her eyes looked down at the dropped bag of Goldfish. She picked them up and put the bag in her shopping cart. Just for good measure, she added a few more bags of Goldfish. She wondered what else Declan might like. Oh he probably wouldn't like her charity, but she wasn't going to let a child starve. 

By the time Declan came back, Mary Margaret had already bought her school supplies and the Goldfish bags. 

“Ah, Declan.” Mary Margaret caught his attention, and showed him the bag full of Goldfish crackers. “Here you go.” 

“Huh?” Declan asked confusedly. 

“They’re for you.” She told him. 

Declan shook his head. “Uh, that’s okay.” 

"You said that you didn't have enough money." Mary Margaret said. "So I bought them for you." 

“You don’t need to do that.” Declan protested. 

“Well, I already did.” Mary Margaret replied in an upbeat tone, unwilling to bend on this. If she could have, she would’ve bought him actual vegetables and fruit. “Here you go.” She then thrust the bag into his arms. 

“Oh, okay then.” Declan muttered. After a few seconds, he mustered up an even quieter, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Mary Margaret said, satisfied that he accepted it. From the way he held onto it, he wasn’t about to let it go anytime soon. 

That was good. That meant that he had at least something to eat for a while. Mary Margaret wondered if she could subtly sneak him food at his house or school. Maybe she should invite him to the loft more to feed him, and Henry could help her. She would not let a child go hungry on her watch.

“Where are you heading?” Mary Margaret asked, her own bag in hand, as they walked out of the store. 

Declan said, “A place.” He then added. “It’s top secret.”

Mary Margaret had a guess as to what that meant. “Ah, it’s Henry then?”

Declan claimed, “No.” But it was a little too drawn out. He then reaffirmed, “It’s top secret.” 

“It’s his castle isn’t it?” Mary Margaret said, and Declan looked like he was seconds away from slapping his own forehead. “Well, if you want, I could whip something up for you to eat after you’re done playing.” 

“Really?” Declan asked hopefully before clearing his throat, and aiming for a deeper voice before he asked, “You sure?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “Mhmm. It’s always nice to have company around.” 

“I could bring some Goldfish.” Declan offered with a small smirk, raising his bag for effect. 

"You most certainly can." Mary Margaret told him. 

Again, Declan’s mood went from somewhat cocky to weirdly shy. “Only if you can.” He said, and she could see him prepare himself for a sudden rejection. 

“Don’t worry.” Mary Margaret assured him. “If you ever need help, whether it’s food or anything, just come by and let me know.” 

Declan’s pale cheeks flushed, and thought he shrugged, he sincerely said, “I’ll think about it.” After another pause, he said, “Thanks.” 

“It’s no trouble.” Mary Margaret said, and when they finally came to the point where their paths had to diverge, she said, “Would you like me to walk you?” 

“I know the way.” Declan said, already crossing the street. “See you!” 

Mary Margaret waved, and Declan waved back.

Mary Margaret got into her car, and planned to go to the grocery store. She might very receive a guest later, and she wanted to be prepared.

* * *

“And after I got out of the bathroom, she handed me the bag.” Declan told Henry as he showed him and LJ the bag full of Goldfish crackers that Mary Margaret bought him. “I told her she didn’t have to, but she kept telling me to take them.” 

Henry felt a little bad for Declan. He just seemed so confused at the idea that she bought this food for him. It was almost as though no one had ever done anything nice for him before. Henry wondered who his parents were. Were they villains back in the Enchanted Forest? Had they been mean to him?

“And _then_ ,” Declan added, “she invited me over to have food after we’re done here.” Declan patted the wood of Henry’s castle for emphasis. “Like, _why_?” 

“Because she’s nice?” LJ guessed with a shrug at the same time Henry said, “Because she’s Snow White.” 

Declan gave him an unimpressed look before saying, “By the way, either of you want crackers?” 

Somewhat disheartened at his friend’s lack of faith, Henry nonetheless accepted the crackers.

Eventually, the conversation went from Mary Margaret being Snow White (on Henry’s end) to Prince Charming’s fake marriage to Kathryn, whom the group had recently decided was Abigail. Henry had always harbored a suspicion, but he hadn’t been too sure about it. 

LJ, upon hearing Henry’s distaste for the fake marriage, said as he munched on some crackers, “Look, Henry, unless you want to put on a fancy pope hat and annul the marriage, they’re probably not going to just spontaneously get a divorce.” 

Henry gave him an unamused look. 

LJ replied, “Don’t look at me like that. Even curse logic says that they would need something big to snap them out of it.” 

“I’m surrounded by non-believers.” Henry groused, stuffing another cracker into his mouth. 

“Mary Margaret can do better though.” Declan said, and then patted Henry’s back when Henry began to choke on the cracker. 

"But he's her husband!" Henry protested. "They're my grandparents, they have to be together!" 

“The guy doesn’t have the balls to stick up for her more!” Declan argued. “People are still stuck on that rumor shit.”

“It’s because of the curse.” Henry said, getting a little angry in spite of himself. “Prince Charming is so much better.” 

“Well Prince Charming isn’t here.” Declan shot back. 

“Yes he is!” Henry nearly shouted. 

“Okay, guys, guys calm down.” LJ ordered, putting his hands up and putting himself between the two. 

This was getting way out of hand, so Henry took a couple of steps back to collect himself. He shouldn’t get this angry. They didn’t know any better. It was just...sometimes it was too hard to deal with the fact that only one other person knew the truth, the entire truth, and it was his mom and she would do anything she could to keep the curse intact. 

Several moments later, Declan stepped closer to Henry. “Henry, I...I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Declan actually sounded contrite. 

Henry took in another calming breath before saying, “I know. It’s not your fault.”

LJ seemed satisfied by the reconciliation, before warily looking at the sky. “Um, Declan, you want to stay at my house?”

“Why?” Declan asked.

“Because of the storm.” LJ said. “No one knows how big it’s going to be, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay in your shack.”

“I’ll be fine.” Declan tried to assure him.

“I don’t know.” Henry said. “I agree with LJ.” 

“Say what?” Declan said with a blank look. 

Henry amended, “I just think it would be safer if you had somewhere else to stay for the night. Somewhere with heating.” 

“Relax, I’ll figure something out.” Declan told them both. He then said to Henry, “Besides, I can’t exactly stay at your house. I don’t know if your evil mom’s going to put me into the oven.” 

“She’s not that kind of witch.” Henry said, before adding, “Besides, the Blind Witch is already dead. _She’s_ the one who ate kids.” 

A moment passed before LJ said in deadpan tone, “This town is messed up.” 

“You have _no_ idea.” Henry truthfully said. Someday, they would _remember_ just how messed up it could be. 

Declan still seemed uncertain. “I don’t know. Should I go?” 

“You should.” Henry immediately answered, hoping that he could convince Declan to take her up on the offer. “Besides, she _did_ offer. She might be making food for three people right now, and if you don’t show, there’d be too much food and not enough mouths.” 

“A tragedy.” LJ shook his head mournfully.

Declan rolled his eyes at their antics. “Okay, fine, I’ll go. Besides, she made a really good Thanksgiving dinner, so I know it’ll be good.”

“There you go.” Henry teased, and didn’t mind it when Declan lightly socked him on the shoulder.

He did have a point though. Mary Margaret had made a very good Thanksgiving dinner, and he couldn’t wait until next year - because there would be a next year - to have it again. Maybe he could go to, not only to get some food, but to avoid getting stuck with his mom for the evening. Her moods were getting a little out of hand. Some days she was fine, confident that things would go her way, and other days he could just _feel_ the tension mounting, waiting to explode on someone.

If that happened to be tonight, then maybe going to Mary Margaret’s loft would be a safe bet.

* * *

One place that David felt at home at, and yes he was including his own home, was the pet shelter. Maybe it was because of all the animals there - David discovered that he really liked dogs, and being their dog walker was _the best_. Maybe it was because he never interacted with people at the pet shelter before, and thus didn’t have to deal with the awkward task of interacting with them as they gave their well-wishes. He had remembered everything, but for some reason, things didn’t feel right. Dr. Whale said it was just him reintegrating into society again, but that didn’t stop David from feeling slightly off. 

Whatever the reason, volunteering at the pet shelter made him happy. 

David brought back one of the dogs, a Dalmatian named Perdita, when he looked through the windows of one of the doors, and spotted the janitor inside. It was a room filled with stray and abandoned cats, and Freddie was standing amongst them as they roamed the room. Freddie spotted David, and waved at him. 

After returning Perdita to her cage, David came back and entered the room. 

“Shut the door, quickly.” Freddie warned, and David closed the door just before a tabby could race out of there. 

“What’s going on?” David asked, careful to avoid stepping on any of the cats. 

“Just letting everyone out for a small stroll.” Freddie said, walking by the cats who, to David’s astonishment, calmly parted to let Freddie by. David had nothing against cats, but some of the cats here weren’t exactly inclined to do what people wanted them to do. It wasn’t their fault, it was just a communication problem; one that Freddie seemed to have solved without issue. “So, David, how’re things going?” 

“Everything’s fine.” David automatically answered, even as a voice in the back of his head protested, _Except for the fact that your own wife won’t touch you...or that your a little glad she won’t._

Freddie didn’t seem to believe him. “You sure about that?” 

“I’m sure.” David told him, and thankfully Freddie didn’t push it.

Freddie then moved over to another side of the room, grabbing a toy on the way, and then began playing with a fat, black cat who was curled up under the tables. “Lucifer here gets the most nervous about storms.” Freddie said as he tried to comfort the cat, allowing it to claw at the toy in Freddie’s hand, and Freddie didn’t even wince when he was scratched by the cat. Instead, he merely allowed Lucifer the cat to maintain possession of that toy. 

 _Someone named their cat ‘Lucifer’?_ David wondered incredulously before asking aloud, “Do you do this often?” 

“What?” Freddie asked as a cat began crawling onto him, and again he didn’t wince at the cat sinking its claws into him. After David gestured to the cats roaming around him, Freddie made an ‘Ah’ sound. “Yes, the vet said it was okay as long as none of them escaped. They all need some times out of their cages. It’d be like staying in your room all the time.” 

Without thinking, David said, “It’d feel like being boxed in, trapped.” 

Freddie, who had been paying attention to the cat on his shoulders, looked at David, and for a moment the two of them understood each other. “Yeah, I get that.” David wondered why Freddie seemed so sad. 

David cleared his throat. “I should get back to work. See you around.” David then left the room. He went to the front of the shelter, but that’s when he spotted Mary Margaret speaking with Dr. Thatcher. He couldn’t help but drift forward, his feet moving of their own accord. 

Dr. Thatcher continued to speak, but Mary Margaret caught sight of David. 

Dr. Thatcher held a dove in his hands. “Well, the good news is, no broken bones. She was just a little dehydrated, but I got her some fluids, and she should be just fine.” 

“And the bad news?” Mary Margaret asked warily. 

“Well, this is a North Atlantic dove.” Dr. Thatcher explained. “It's a migratory species, very unique among American doves. Now, they tend to form strong monogamous bonds, meaning-” 

“If I don't get her back to her flock, she'll be alone forever.” Mary Margaret interrupted with a worried look on her face. 

Dr. Thatcher’s demeanor became a little more somber as he placed the dove into a cage. “Well, it’s...it’s a long shot, but the alternative is that she’ll heal, but she won’t be happy here.” 

That seemed to make up Mary Margaret’s mind. “I'll take my chances. Thank you, doctor.” 

“You're welcome. Good luck.” Dr. Thatcher said before leaving.

Mary Margaret picked up the cage, and prepared to leave. 

“Mary Margaret.” David said, stopping her in her tracks, “There’s a storm coming. You really shouldn't be out there.”

Mary Margaret wasn’t dissuaded. “Well, the storm is coming tomorrow, and if I wait, she could be lost forever, completely alone. No one deserves that.” 

David agreed, but he couldn’t let her take that risk alone. “Then let me drive you.” He offered. 

“I don't need your help David, I'll be fine.” Mary Margaret said before leaving. 

David waited, and waited, until finally he decided that he couldn’t take the risk. He’d rather Mary Margaret be fine and mad at him, than hurt or worse. Despite everything that happened, he still cared about her, and he felt terrible about how things had progressed. He would make it up to her, somehow. 

* * *

Mary Margaret ran along the road in the woods, doing her best to keep a steady pace so as not to jostle the dove in the cage she was carrying. Somewhere up above, Mary Margaret head doves cooing. “Do you hear that!?” She said to the dove. “It’s your flock.”

Mary Margaret wouldn’t let this dove be separated from perhaps the only love she would ever know. 

 _You think maybe you’re doing some transference_ , a voice in her mind suggested. 

Mary Margaret ignored it in favor of focusing on the task at hand. If she reunited the dove with the flock soon, she could get back in time to make a meal for Emma, Declan, and herself. She stopped at the top of the crest of a hill, setting the birdcage down as she looked down the slope of the hill, seeing the deep ravine below. She’d have to be careful, because she doubted that she would be able to walk away from a fall like that. 

Suddenly there was a bright flash and a loud crack! 

Mary Margaret instinctively looked up, trying to find the source of the bright flash, but it unbalanced her just enough so that the heel of her foot sunk into a weak part of the earth. Before she could think about it, Mary Margaret fell backwards, and began to roll down uncontrollably towards the edge. For a terrifying moment, she felt most of her body become subject to free fall before her eyes caught sight of a hanging root. Without thinking she grabbed onto it, her body jerking roughly as her hand clenched onto the root for dear life. A whimper escaped from her lips, and Mary Margaret felt nothing but air beneath her feet. Thunderclaps echoed as she continued to breathe heavily. She began to scream for help, hoping that it wasn’t futile, and that someone was out there. That someone could hear her. 

The root began to give way, and just as Mary Margaret’s mind raced with all manner of fearful thoughts - _I don’t want die, please I don’t want to die, there’s so much I haven’t done_ \- a hand reached into the ravine and clasped tightly around her forearm. 

“Here.” David said as his face appeared in her view. “Grab my hand!” He ordered, extending his other hand to her, which she gladly accepted. “Hold tight! Come on!” David strained as he pulled Mary Margaret onto solid ground, and she did her best to push herself up. 

Once she pulled herself up, she ended up falling on top of David, but she was shaking too much to care.

“You really think I'd let you come out here alone?” He asked, trying to put a little levity into the situation. 

Realizing the position she was in, she rolled off of him. “You okay?” He asked concerned as he watched her stand up.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Mary Margaret said, and she began to head back up the slope toward the road. She had something to do, and she wasn’t going to stop until it was done. 

“Where are you going?” David asked as more thunder began to boom and crack.

“I came to find the flock!” Mary Margaret said, noticing that he was soon behind her.

“And I came here to get you before you got hurt.” David told her as they reached the road. Soon the thunder claps were joined by heavy rain. “We have to go.” 

Mary Margaret ran. “No!” She told him as she continued walking towards the birdcage. 

David argued, “Doing this on foot is not the best plan.”

“The gate was closed!” She shouted, now having to raise her voice just to be heard. She reached the birdcage, covered it with her jacket to shield the bird from the rain.

“I know, I saw.” David replied. “It's too late, we have to go.” 

Mary Margaret immediately protested. “No, but the bird-” 

“Mary Margaret, it’s not safe!” David shouted. “We need to get out of here. Come on.” 

Thunder crashed, and Mary Margaret knew she didn’t have a choice. The storm hit much sooner than she expected, and she wasn’t prepared for it at all. They would have to go back up the road, and find shelter.

* * *

Emma hadn’t been suspicious of the stranger before. Whatever Henry might say, a new person coming into town didn’t automatically mean some sordid past. After all, she was a new person- 

Okay not the best example. 

Still, she hadn’t automatically suspected anything suspicious about him. That changed after Regina told her that the stranger had been talking to Henry, and left as soon as Regina arrived. That just made Emma wary. Sure, it was a small town, and things like that would’ve usually gone unnoticed, but Henry was _her_ son. She wasn’t going to let any suspicious activity slide where he was concerned. 

The meeting with the stranger hadn’t gone according to plan. Well, Emma hadn’t actually had a plan in mind outside of ‘Interrogate’, but still she didn’t learn nearly as much about him as she would’ve liked. 

He claimed that he was a writer, and she didn’t detect a lie in that. She knew that he loved stringing people along if his little game with revealing his typewriter was anything to go by. He had smoothly waved off any questions she had about talking to Henry, and dammit if they weren’t innocuous enough to sound plausible. She hated that he was able to do that. 

However, something seemed different about him. She didn’t suspect anything magical like Henry, but that still left the stranger’s identity a mystery. 

It was raining hard now, the storm hitting much faster than anyone had expected. The only upside of the day was that Graham decided to take over station duty tonight, so all she had to do was go home. 

When she got there, however, she found Henry and Declan sitting on the ground next to the door of the loft. 

“Henry? Declan?” Emma asked. “What are you doing out here?”

“We’re waiting for Mary Margaret.” Henry replied. “She hasn’t come back yet. LJ already went home, and we’re hungry.” 

“She’s not here?” Emma asked as she took out her keys. She unlocked the door of the loft and the two boys got up in a flash and raced in. “Come on in.” Emma snarked, though neither of them heard her, having quickly placed their jackets and backpacks by the door. She did notice Declan holding onto a shopping bag though. 

“Mary Margaret said that I could come by later to eat something, after we were done playing.” Declan explained as he and Henry went to sit at the kitchen counter. 

“Really?” Emma asked warily as she put her coat on the hanger. She was mainly worried about Mary Margaret. She wouldn’t be this late without a good reason. Emma just hoped that she hadn’t been caught in the storm. If she had, Emma hoped that she found somewhere safe to hide out in.

That left Emma with another problem. She didn’t really know how to cook. She could make pre-prepared stuff, and pancakes was something she could do, but she wasn’t the cook that Mary Margaret was. Emma didn’t feel that the weather was great for driving the boys to the hospital if she ended up poisoning them. 

“Soooo,” Emma drew out as she walked closer to the boys, “you guys want to eat cereal or something?” 

“For a meal?” Henry asked at the same time Declan shrugged and said, “Can I have milk too?” 

There was an awkward silence as Emma tried to figure out what she was going to feed these kids.

She had resorted to slowly pulling out the bowls, preparing to pour some cereal into them when a knock at the door saved her. 

Emma immediately went to answer it, hoping that it was Mary Margaret, but to her surprise, she found Killian standing there.

“Killian?” Emma asked as she took him in. He was soaked, his leather jacket didn’t do enough to protect anything but his torso from the rain. His dark hair was wet, his eyes stood out more as water stubbornly clung onto his cheeks, and his pants clung onto him more tightly than usual. Emma, upon realizing that she was staring, asked, “What’re you doing here?” 

“I wanted to check on you.” Killian answered. “I went to the station first, but Graham said he sent you home. I got worried when the storm arrived, so I thought to bring these.” Killian then held up a bag, and after letting one of the handles go, Emma saw that it contained some food and board games. “I thought that the power might go out, so I wanted to bring these just in case you and Mary Margaret needed them.” 

“Thanks.” Emma said, touched by his generosity before reminding herself of his state. “Do you want to come in?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.” Killian replied. 

Emma then said, “Killian, no offense, but you’re soaking wet. Besides it’s the least I could do. Come in.” 

This time, Killian accepted. 

Emma took the bag from him and went to the kitchen while he removed his jacket, and hung it on the coat hanger. 

Emma found that the food in there contained some store-bought sandwiches, among other foods, as well as the board games, two decks of cards, and a flashlight. “Hey guys, thank Killian for the food.” She told the boys. 

“Thanks Killian.” Henry immediately said. He then nudged Declan on the arm, to which the other boy finally said a thank you to Killian. 

As usual, Killian and Declan couldn’t help but glare at each other. 

Emma looked at the storm outside, and it seemed as if the rain became heavier as the thunder became louder. “It looks like the four of us are going to be in here for a while.” She commented. “Luckily, in case the power goes out, Killian brought us some games.”

“Nice!” Henry said, holding up his hand so that he and Killian could high-five. 

“In the meantime, we can eat these sandwiches.” Emma said.

“I can cook, if you like.” Killian offered as he entered the kitchen. 

“You can cook?” Emma asked. 

“But of course, Swan.” Killian teased. “I’m a man of many talents. Besides, I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer something in exchange for shelter here.” 

“You’ve already helped.” Emma pointed out, nodding at the sandwiches and games for emphasis. 

“Let me do this, Swan.” Killian said, and his voice dipped into that delicious tenor that sent a chill and a shudder throughout Emma’s body. 

Trying to maintain some semblance of control, Emma jokingly sighed. “Alright, alright, you win.” 

“Excellent!” Killian said brightly as he moved about the kitchen. “Time to pull my own weight, and get some food into these starving lads.” 

“I’m not starving.” Declan denied. 

Emma couldn’t help but note that he looked a little skinnier than usual. Then again, Emma wouldn’t put it past him to make this denial if only to get under Killian’s skin. 

If so, it worked, and a new round of glares passed between them even as Declan helped Killian make the food. 

Emma, despite knowing how childish it was, couldn’t help but smile at it. Some rivalries just couldn’t and wouldn’t die.

* * *

She had almost died. She had almost _died_! She would have if not for David’s intervention. Now they were stuck in a cabin until the storm was over. She just hoped that her bad luck would persist, and lightning would burn the whole thing down.

_Okay Mary Margaret, deep breath. You’re getting a little too dark here._

Thankfully the dove was alright, and the one ray of hope they had was that David managed to get a fire started in the fireplace. At least they wouldn’t get too cold. 

The question nagged at her mind. “Whose cabin is this?” She asked aloud. “Are you sure it's okay for us to be in here?” 

David grabbed a nearby blanket and unfolded it. “Well, you're roommates with the deputy, so I doubt she'll arrest us for breaking and entering. Here.” He then tried to put the blanket on Mary Margaret, who immediately began to crave the feeling of his arms around her, which was why she shook him off. “Hey, I'm just...I'm just trying to help.” 

“I know, but…” Mary Margaret trailed off. That craving she felt, that need she had for him to put his arms around her, to hold her, to be able to talk to her and discuss things with her...it was too much. “David, I…”

“What?” David asked, a touch of hope in his voice as she stepped closer to her. “Mary Margaret, what is it?” 

“I still have feelings for you, okay?” She blurted out, unable to keep eye contact with him. Suddenly, words began tumbling out of her mouth. “I know I keep saying that we shouldn’t be seen together, but it’s not because I lost those feelings for you. But I can’t forget the fact that you chose Kathryn.” Mary Margaret felt her lip tremble at remembering the rejection, the despondence she felt as she realized that she hoped for too much. 

“Mary Margaret-” David started, but she had too much she wanted to say. 

“Every time I see you, it’s not just the rumors I’m reminded of. Those I can handle.” She said, her voice shaking a little. “It’s the fact that you chose Kathryn instead of me. And that's why I didn't want you to come to the woods with me. Because being around you is too...it’s too painful.” 

A long silence followed afterwards, and with each passing second, Mary Margaret worried that she had said too much. She was afraid that she revealed more than she could live with, and she wondered if this what it was like for Emma, to be afraid of putting yourself out there and getting hurt as a result. 

“I’m so sorry.” David said, his face full of remorse. “I’m sorry. I never should’ve gone back to Kathryn.”

“What?” Mary Margaret asked in shock. What was he saying? 

David looked ashamed. “The truth is...things haven’t been great with Kathryn and me, and I don’t know if they ever really were. I went back to her because I thought that was the right thing to do. I thought that if I worked really hard at it, then things would go back to normal. But the truth is that Kathryn’s been distant, and maybe that’s because she knows…”

“She knows what?” Mary Margaret prompted. 

David looked into her eyes. 

Mary Margaret was drawn into them. 

David continued, “Because...she knows that I don’t love her.” 

“David.” Mary Margaret warned. 

“It’s true.” David said, stepping closer so that there was only inches of space between them. “I stayed with her out of duty, not love. That’s not how a marriage should be. I remember there was a time I was...fond of her, and that’s still true. I do think she deserves to be happy, but I don’t think that’s going to be with me. We’re just never going to have that connection. That...that feeling you get where you can feel completely at peace, where even if you run out of things to talk about, you can take comfort in the silence. Where you can imagine spending every single day of the rest of your life with this person, and it doesn’t feel like it’s enough. I don’t think that will ever be Kathryn and me, and maybe that’s what was on my mind the night I drove away and got into that accident.” 

“What exactly are you saying?” Mary Margaret asked, her voice quiet as she was well aware that they were only a breath away away from each other.

David’s voice was quiet. “I can see that with you. Maybe I’m saying this too soon, maybe you don’t trust me yet, and you have every right to. But if you give me just one more chance, I’d like to start over with you.” 

Mary Margaret oh so badly wanted that. Even if for some reason, if in some life they didn’t work out romantically, she would want to be friends. She still missed David. She missed his company, she missed the way he could make her laugh and smile. Except... 

“Even so.” Mary Margaret said, taking a step back, feeling her throat constrict and her eyes water. “You’re still married. Whatever anyone else might say, I won’t do that to Kathryn. I don’t know her, I wouldn’t even know if I liked her, but I can’t do that. I’m sorry.” 

David looked as heartbroken as she felt. “I’m sorry too.”

The rain outside pelted against the windows, the only sound as all three occupants of the cabin remained silent.

* * *

“Well shit.” The foul-mouthed child known as Declan Holtzer swore as the power in the loft went out. At least they had cleared out the dishes from the meal before the power was gone. 

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Killian groused as he looked for a flashlight, though he had to admit that he wasn’t much better when he was the child’s age.

“My mom doesn’t care if I fucking curse.” Declan said, and Killian knew the intended effect was to get Henry to laugh. For some reason, Henry held a special place in his heart for Declan. He did so for LJ as well, but Henry, while thankfully never engaging in the same sort of talk, did give Declan some allowances. In the end, Declan’s cursing had the intended effect, as Henry giggled a little.

However, something was off about that laughter. Henry clearly enjoyed the little display of bravado from Declan, but there was something a little restrained this time. Killian would be able to tell more if he could actually see him, but as it was, he was still looking for a source of light. 

“Simmer down, kids.” Emma told them as she managed to light a candle, which helped Killian locate a flashlight he bought for this very occasion. 

They soon set up lights around the loft, and set up a main area at the kitchen counter, where Killian began shuffling a deck of cards. 

“We’re playing poker?” Declan asked with a bit of reluctance. 

 _Ah, a newcomer._ Killian surmised. He took pity on the boy by saying, “How’s about you and Henry decide what we should play?" 

“War!” Henry declared at the same time Declan said “Go Fish!” The two boys looked at each other challengingly, and immediately began to play rock, paper, scissors. After three consecutive rounds, Declan won. 

The four of them played Go Fish to pass the time, and despite the storm raging outside, Killian was actually enjoying himself. He mostly enjoyed Henry and Declan becoming increasingly competitive as time went on, concentrating very hard on trying to accurately guess which cards the other had. They were especially disappointed when Emma won a round, as they became so focused on beating each other that they forgot that there were two other players. Except, of course, for the times that Declan would remember Killian’s presence, and for a temporary amount of time, the two of them would eye each other warily. They eventually transitioned to the game Henry originally wanted to play, with the boys of course taking the first round. 

Ten minutes later, Killian and Emma slowly began to back away as the two boys began to competitively play the aptly named card game of ‘War’. 

“They’re really getting into it.” Emma commented as she poured a drink for herself and Killian. 

“Aye.” Killian said as he observed the boys. “I’m slightly worried Declan is going to choke on those crackers if he’s not careful.” True enough, Declan had to take a moment to remember to breathe, as he was so focused on the game that every attempt to eat risked a choking hazard. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were worried about him.” Emma teased. 

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Killian teased back. “I don’t actually hate the lad though.” At Emma’s raised eyebrow, he protested, “I don’t.”

“Whatever you say.” Emma said after taking a sip of her drink, and Killian copied that action. “Anyways, thanks again for helping.”

“It’s no trouble, Swan. Anytime you need a chef, I’d be happy to come by.” Killian told her, taking note of how the light of the candles shone lightly on her face. Her cheeks rose as she smiled, her hair almost illuminated in the soft light, and her green eyes gaining a new, different kind of light. Half of her face was obscured by shadows, but that just added to his desire to see all of her. His heart thumped more powerfully at the thought. 

Emma’s voice lowered as she spoke, and while Killian thought that it could be because she didn’t want to disturb the boys playing, Killian could help but feel his heart beat a little faster at the effect it had on him. Emma smiled as she asked, “Are you just looking for an excuse to come over?” 

“And if I was?” Killian teased back, feeling a smile rise at this little game he and Emma had come to play with each other, and only with each other. Killian took a half-step closer, waiting to see what Emma’s next move would be. 

“Now, if I really didn’t know any better, I’d think that was a challenge.” Emma said, taking a half-step of her closer to Killian. “If so, then you wouldn’t be able to handle it.” 

“Perhaps you’re the one who couldn’t handle it.” Killian whispered, so close that he could see Emma’s eyes darken. 

They were standing so close together, their drinks were all but forgotten on the counter, and out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw the tips of their fingers resting each away from each other. Killian’s eyes flickered to her lips, and he saw hers did the same. They were so close- 

Then, at the last moment, Emma pulled away, and he saw a certain level of fear on her face before her walls went back up. Killian tried not to show his disappointment. They had been so close, but Emma wasn’t ready. For some reason, she still pulled back from him, and Killian wondered if he did something wrong. Was there too much teasing? Did he take things too far? 

Emma took a step back, and quietly took her drink in hand. She looked like she wanted to say something, but eventually decided against it. Instead, Emma left Killian in the kitchen, and rejoined the boys who were still at play.

Killian let out a quiet sight. Killian wondered if Emma would let him get that close to her. He wondered if she would ever truly trust him.

* * *

Eventually, the rain stopped, and to David’s delight and Mary Margaret’s joy, the flock hadn’t left. They seemed to have been waiting for the dove that was left behind, and the minute the dove was released from the cage, it rejoined its flock, as was the natural order of things. The joy the two of them had felt was minimized by the fact that they now were going to have to leave each other again. 

That didn’t mean that her words in the cabin had been lost on him. She still had feelings for him, but she was afraid of being hurt again. He completely understood, but he felt that he should be with her, even if only as a friend, though he knew they could be something more. 

Instead of going home, David made his way to the pet shelter, almost like he was on autopilot. 

“Oh hey, David.” Freddie greeted him as he was doing his best to calm the animals, as they were likely frightened by the storm. “Didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“It’s...been a hectic day.” David sighed. 

“Is everything okay?” Freddie asked. 

“Everything’s-” David cut himself off as he was about to lie again, and right now he just didn’t have the stomach to do so. “No, it’s not.” 

“What happened?” Freddie asked as he approached David. “Are you hurt? Did something happen to Kathryn?” 

“No, no, it’s not…” David didn’t know what to say. How could he possibly unload his feelings about this? Freddie was a nice enough guy, but he couldn’t exactly dump all of this on him. 

After David said nothing for a while, Freddie got a contemplative look on his face. He eventually said, “David, are you comfortable talking about this?” 

David was apologetic. “Not...entirely. I’m sorry, Freddie, but I just don’t know how to explain this. I need to figure it out, but-“ 

“Breathe David.” Freddie ordered cutting off David’s ramblings. He then paused for another moment before saying, “Let’s try something. I’ll ask you a question, and you don’t have to tell me your answer, but even if it’s in your mind, you need to be honest with yourself. Okay?” 

David, seeing no other viable option, nodded. 

Freddie began his questions. “What do you want to do?” 

 _Be with Mary Margaret_. David told himself honestly. 

“Would getting this thing hurt someone?” Freddie asked, carefully observing David’s every reaction. 

 _Kathryn. It would be the end of our marriage._ David thought. _But would it be worse than living in a marriage where you’re not in love, at least not in the way you should be?_

“Is there an obstacle to getting what you want?” Freddie asked. 

 _Kathryn._ David thought.

“Okay.” Freddie said, thinking on his next question. “Does this thing, or person,” David’s head shot up at the clarification, and he knew that Freddie had an idea about what this was about, “holding you back have a greater hold on you than what you want?” 

“No.” David admits out loud. “No, she doesn’t.” He hadn’t meant to say it, but it was out there. He couldn’t take it back now.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing David.” Freddie said somberly. 

“You know what?” David said. “I think I do.” 

He knew what he needed to do. It was better for everyone if he just sucked it up and got it over with. None of them would be able to find real happiness unless he toughed it out and hoped for the best.

For everyone’s sake, he was going to divorce his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go! Snowing had their cabin moment, Declan seems to be in worsening health, CS had an almost kiss, and David is gonna get a divorce.
> 
> Isn’t love grand?
> 
> Let me know what you thought in your review. Expect an update same time next week!
> 
> See you soon!


	14. The Lonely Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we finally get a flashback, and we learn about what kind of childhood Declan had in his past and current lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter takes place around the time of Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, but I am overriding it so that this chapter will take its place.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything in canon belongs to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (plus Disney, never forget Disney). Also I am not a medical professional, so please forgive any and all inaccuracies. 
> 
> Also, just to be safe, here’s my WARNING: there are mentions of neglect and abuse, and the effects of these two. Also, beware of a few deaths in flashbacks.
> 
> Thanks as always to Can’t-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me with this story.
> 
> Enjoy!

_December 8, 2011_

Somehow, Killian ended up becoming a pseudo-teacher to a small group of students.

The newest additions to their little group were Ava and Nick, who came by after school with Henry, LJ, and Declan. Originally, when it was only Henry who came into the library on a regular basis, the boy would usually enter quietly until he spotted either Killian or Dada. When he started bringing LJ and Declan, they would talk and laugh together, and sometimes run in together. Now that Ava and Nick came along, it was rare for the group to enter the library in a quiet and orderly fashion.

They received help with their schoolwork, and sometimes they would even go out to get something to eat. It was kind of like Killian adopted Henry, by extension, his friends too.

As Killian stood upright after helping Nick with some of his English homework, Killian had to wonder about how that came to be.

He spotted Declan sitting next to LJ, pencil in hand, but he was staring into space.

“Are you neglecting your work to plot against me?” Killian joked, hoping to startle Declan out of his stupor. However, when Declan didn’t respond, not even sparing Killian a glance in his direction, he began to feel nervous. “Declan?”

LJ took note of Declan’s lack of awareness, and gently nudged him on the shoulder.

“What?” Declan sounded annoyed, finally snapped back into reality. LJ pointed in Killian’s direction, a little annoyed at being spoken to like that, before returning to his work. Declan tiredly turned his head in Killian’s direction, but seemed too tired to lift his head to meet his gaze. “What is it?” He asked breathily, his voice giving away how tired he was.

Killian's brow furrowed. "Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Declan said, still tired but evidently strong enough to make it clear in two words that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Killian’s instincts told him that he couldn’t just ignored this, so he pushed on. “Declan-”

Declan immediately shoved his belongings into his backpack, though took the time to take out that fake egg of him, to avoid it being crushed under the other items. Killian hadn’t seen that egg in a while, though he had no doubt that Declan always kept it on his person. Even now, after hastily closing his backpack and putting it on his back, Declan held it closely like he was afraid someone would take it, but also held it gently like he was afraid he would break it.

“I gotta go home.” Declan muttered, standing up to leave.

"Declan, wait!" Killian started to go after the boy. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut.

“I’m fine! Leave me alone!” Declan shouted as he ran out, slamming the door behind him.

Killian ran out, but to his shock, he found that the boy was already out of sight. He stood at the front door of the library, searching for Declan, but he was gone. Where had he gone?

Killian went back inside, where the remaining children were staring at him in utter silence. He then saw that they were sharing looks with each other.

He looked at Henry. "Do you know what that was about?"

Henry shook his head, though Killian didn’t miss the hint of guilt on Henry’s face.

Killian walked over to him and knelt down to his level. “Henry, if Declan's in trouble, then as a friend, you should tell someone who can help him.”

Henry glanced at something over Killian’s shoulder, and his gaze lingered long enough for Killian to look over his shoulder to see what it was. He found were Ava and Nick doing their homework, almost too casually.

He turned back to Henry. "You're not betraying him if you get him help. Is it his parents? Henry, do they hurt him?"

“I-I don’t know.” Henry stuttered quietly, unable to look at Killian.

"Henry, look at me." Killian waited for the boy to do so. "You trust me don't you? You can tell me. Or tell Emma, or Mary Margaret if you wish. It doesn't matter where the help comes from, but if Declan is getting hurt, if he's not getting food, if he's in trouble, he needs help."

Henry still looked hesitant, but he finally said with guilt in his voice, “It’s just...he doesn’t have a lot of money and...he doesn’t like asking for help. There’s just not a lot of food right now. Sometimes I give him some of my lunch, but it’s not always enough. Plus it’s getting colder.”

Killian's heart ached in sympathy. He spent too many nights as a child suffering through starvation, and too many harsh winter nights with nothing to warm him but threadbare blankets and newspapers stuffed under his arms and anywhere else he could stuff it. He remembered the times where Liam would purposefully deprive himself of jackets, shirts, or even socks just to ease Killian’s burdens. Even though this meant taking on more himself.

Killian put his hand on Henry’s shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. “You did the right thing by telling me.”

"Will you help him?" Henry asked.

"Believe me, lad, I know his plight all too well." Killian said. "I'll do whatever I can to help him."

Henry smiled a little before suddenly leaning forward to hug Killian, who returned the hug. Henry didn’t say anything, but the tight hold he had on Killian spoke for him.

Killian resolved to ensure that Declan wouldn't suffer as he had as a child. In order to do that, he needed to talk to others who he knew would help. After the lesson was over, he was going to find Emma.

* * *

It was a slow day, and neither Emma or Graham had been called out to do anything except reign in Leroy from another drunken outburst. Seriously, that man needed some help. Other than that, things had been pretty quiet, and Graham had gone out to get some drinks for them.

This unfortunately led to Emma thinking about her moment with Killian during the storm.

She thought about the moment over and over in her head. She had gotten too close to showing how she felt about him. She had almost revealed too much vulnerability. She hadn’t meant to do it, it just...happened.

Then, when she pulled back, Emma saw the disappointment in Killian’s eyes. He could hide it from on his face, but not in his eyes. She knew he wanted something more, but he just didn’t realize that she couldn’t give that to him. She wasn’t built to have a relationship like that. Her friendships with people like Mary Margaret and Ray, along with her relationship with Henry notwithstanding, she just couldn’t risk her heart like that.

No matter how much she might want to try something with Killian, she wouldn’t risk having her heart broken again. She wouldn’t make that same mistake twice.

Graham came back with drinks. “Here you are, cocoa with cinnamon.” He said as he handed it to her.

“Thanks.” Emma said, accepting the drink and taking a sip.

Graham was staring at her.

Emma asked, “What is it?”

“Oh, nothing, you just have your thinking face on.” Graham told her.

“Thinking face?” Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, you know.” Graham said as he leaned against her desk. “The kind where you’re thinking about something really personal that you probably won’t want to talk about.”

“I do _not_ have a thinking face.” Emma told him.

He clearly didn’t believe her. "So what were you not thinking about?" He teased.

Emma stared at him with an unamused look. “Maybe I was thinking about how bored I am.”

“You’re no fun.” Graham scoffed as he stood up.

“And you’re nosy.” Emma playfully shot back.

“I’m a cop.” Graham replied simply as he walked into his office.

A few minutes later, Killian walked into the station, and Emma wondered if maybe this wasn’t a slow day so much as a ‘Let’s see how much Emma can take’ day.

“Emma, can we talk?” Killian asked.

"Uh, sure." She really hoped that he wasn't here to talk about their...moment at the loft.

Killian walked over and took a seat next to her desk.

“What’s up?” She asked, hoping that she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt.

“Henry told me something today.” Killian started.

Immediately, all of Emma’s thoughts turned from worrying about what happened during the storm, and wondering what had happened to her kid.

“He’s alright.” Killian assured her. “Declan was acting out though. He wasn’t paying attention, but even when I tried to get him to focus, it took him longer than usual to do anything. He was tired, more snappy than usual, and he even ran out of the library today when I tried asking him about it.”

“What did Henry say?” Emma asked him, her mind already coming up with reasons that might explain this behavior. Killian wouldn’t have brought this up if it wasn’t important.

“Henry said that Declan’s been having some money troubles.” Killian answered. “As a result, there hasn’t been a lot of food in his home lately. Henry said that he even tried to split some of his meals with Declan, but...I’ve noticed the boy getting skinnier and skinnier.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” Emma said, now feeling about not having done something.

“It’s not just Henry.” Killian said. “LJ, Ava, and Nick were at the library too, and I have a feeling that they know something is going on, but none of them are talking. I fear it’ll only get worse, what with winter setting in.”

That only worried Emma more. “Have you talked to his parents?” She asked.

Killian replied, “That’s just it. I’ve never met them. Come to think of it, I don’t even know where Declan lives.”

Emma tried thinking about it, and she realized that she didn’t know where he lived either. She knew where Henry and LJ lived, and even where Ava and Nick lived. When it came to where Declan spent his nights, she came up with nothing.

"There has to be some record." Emma said. "Let me see if we have any files on Holtzer. If not, we can check the records at town hall."

“Check the records on who?” Graham asked, sticking his head out of his office.

"Declan." Killian said. "We need his home address."

“Ah.” Graham said, already opening some drawers. Then he stopped and asked, “Is he in some kind of trouble?”

“Not the kind we need to arrest him for.” Emma told him. _I hope_ , she added in her thoughts.

Before they could get any searching done, Emma heard someone run into the bullpen.

Killian sounded worried. “Henry? What is it lad?”

Turning around, Emma saw Henry standing there in absolute tears. She immediately walked up to him and asked, “Henry, what happened?”

Henry just rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress his sobs.

Emma wrapped her arms around him. “Henry, did something happen? Are you hurt?”

Henry mumbled something.

“Henry?” Emma asked again, and though she felt both men staring at them, Emma was focused solely on Henry.

“She destroyed my castle.” Henry said louder in a shaky voice before turning his head up to look at her. “My mom destroyed my castle.”

“What?” Emma asked.

“She destroyed my castle.” Henry said, this time angry filtering into his voice as he pulled back a bit. “She said that it was dangerous, but that was a lie. She just wanted to stop us from having a place just for us. She just…” Henry trailed off, his lip trembling as his sniffled.

“Hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay.” Emma said, pulling him back into her arms. She then turned her head towards Graham, and said in a lowered voice, “Graham, do you mind if I-”

“I’ll look for the files.” Graham told her in a sympathetic voice.

Emma then began to lead Henry away. “Come on. Let’s see if the vending machine has anything you like.”

“What if she destroys something else?” Henry moaned in a wobbly voice. He then suddenly looked at Killian with worry. “What if she tries to destroy the library?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Killian assured him as he walked with them. “She’d have to go through a great deal of people before she could tear that place down.”

Henry only looked a little reassured, and as Emma went to get something for him from the machine, he transferred himself from her arms to Killian’s. Killian immediately let Henry hug him, rubbing his hand up and down Henry’s back in a comfortingly manner.

A small part of Emma was happy that Killian was able to comfort Henry, and that Henry felt comfortable enough around Killian to do so. She also couldn’t help but feel warm towards Killian again, confusing her about her feelings even more.

Normally, those feelings would take center stage on her mind. Right now though, she would focus on Henry. After that, she would help Declan. When both of those were taken care of, she and Regina were going to have _words_.

No one would make her kid cry and get away from it. _No one_.

* * *

Night time, Declan thought bitterly, was the worst part of the day in his shack. Even with his blankets, his lack of heating made things hell. He thought about stealing a heat lamp, but realized that would be pretty useless since there weren’t any outlets.

His stomach rumbled, and Declan tried to lay very still on his small bed, hoping that he wouldn’t upset his stomach. He really didn’t feel like taking a horrible shit for the fourth time tonight.

Declan felt the biting chill of the winter night air. Part of him wanted to talk to Henry and LJ over the walkie talkie, but he also knew that they would be all stupid and worry about him. It was kind of weird having people who constantly asked him stuff like how he was doing, did he eat today, all that shit.

He wished that he was with them, but he felt too weak. He’d barely had enough strength to come back to the shack after running out of the library. Why did Killian have to ask so many questions? The guy liked to act all cool and stuff. Wasn’t it against some code that caring about people wasn’t cool.

Declan sighed. Declan didn’t really hate the guy. He didn’t even entirely dislike him. It was fun to get under Killian’s skin, and every time Killian got under his, it only made him want to try harder to get to him. Besides, Killian actually cared about Henry and LJ, and that made him alright by Declan’s standards.

 _Dumbass, you should’ve kept it together_ , Declan berated himself. At the time, he was barely able to keep his eyes open as it was. And when Killian started asking questions, all of a sudden, it just got to be too much to handle.

Letting his thoughts drift, he thought about the last time he had company there. Ava and Nick were nice, and Ava did her best to help out. Nick even tried to figure out how to make a sandwich. Plus, Nick hugged him, which was definitely nice...when was the last time someone had hugged Declan?

Feeling his throat clenched up, and his eyes begin to water, Declan reluctantly got out of bed long enough to grab his fake egg. He then quickly got back into bed, huddling under the covers to hold onto some warmth.

“Sorry I haven’t taken you out in a while.” Declan whispered to the fake egg, and in his delirium, he could almost imagine someone was in there listening to him. “I’ve kept you with me though. Made sure you didn’t…” Declan’s thoughts were lost to him, and when he recovered, he realized that some time must have passed by, as his side now cramped horribly from laying on it.

“I’m so hungry.” He whispered out, then tried to banish the thought, as thinking of food just made him want it more. He tried to drink water, but he could barely keep food down anymore. He tried eating, but one way or another it would leave his body too quickly for his stomach to process it.

Instead of focusing on his hungry, Declan tried to think about other things. It was maybe...a year ago? His parents had kicked him out of their house, and he could them fighting loudly even as he walked down the street. He walked in the woods, his usual hangout whenever he figured that his parents wouldn’t let him back in anytime soon. After a while, he almost decided to head back before he tripped over something. He looked, and found a crummy looking egg there. After inspecting it, he found that it wasn’t real, and instead looked like someone painted a big plastic Easter egg in cheap grey paint.

Declan decided he would keep it. He hid it from his parents of course. They would just say that he’s wasting more space than usual. Or worse, they would try to sell it for whatever money they could get.

“Delinquent, come in.” LJ’s voice startled Declan. He almost looked around before he realized that it was coming from the walkie talkie. “Delinquent, this is Goody Two-Shoes, come in.”

Declan grabbed the walkie talkie and groggily replied, “Goody Two-Shoes, this is Delinquent. What is it?”

“I just...wanted to see if you were okay.” LJ said. “Why did you run out of the library?”

“Because I didn’t feel like it?” Declan replied weakly, feeling bad about not even being able to put as much effort into his snark. Normally, his snark came naturally, because that’s just what he did, but hey things were even more shitty lately.

“Or because Killian was getting close to figuring something out?” LJ, damn him, correctly guessed. “Listen, you want to come over to my house? I can walk over and take you.”

“It’s fine.” Declan said. “I’m just really tired.”

“Declan, I’m worried.” LJ replied. “You’re falling asleep in class, spacing out, and you’re hungry all the time.”

“I’m a growing b-” Declan stopped himself, suddenly suppressing the urge to throw up. “I’m growing. Fuck.”

LJ started, “Declan-”

“I’m fucking fine, okay.” Declan said, trying to sound irritated, but his voice was so weak he just devolved into a whine.

Several seconds passed before LJ talked again. “Tomorrow’s your birthday right?”

Declan thought, _He remembered?_ In shock he replied, “Um, yeah.”

“Then, you can come to my house for food.” LJ suggested. “Or we could go to the ice cream shop. I could convince my uncle to have a sleepover.”

“LJ-” Declan started, but LJ interrupted.

“Hey, it’s your birthday.” He said. “You’re turning 12. You should have fun.”

Declan couldn’t help but laugh, however weak it was. “Sure. Fine _Mom_.”

“That’s right.” LJ teased. “Now try to get some sleep. It’s a big day tomorrow.”

“I guess so.” Declan said. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” LJ said, and the other end of the line became silent.

Declan tried to get some sleep, with only a fake egg as a companion, hoping he’d have better things to dream about.

* * *

_December 9, 2011_

“Happy birthday to you!” LJ, Henry, Ava, and Nick sang as they sat at the cafeteria, Declan fidgeting in his seat with an embarrassed smile on his face. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Declan! Happy birthday to you!”

Soon other people near them clapped as Declan took a bite out of the cupcake they all got him. All four of them got up and gave him a hug.

“Ugh, guys.” Declan ‘complained’, though it was clear from the smile on his voice and the tone of his voice that he didn’t mind at all.

Once they regained their seats, they began presenting him with some small gifts. Ava and Nick got him a warm sweater. Henry got him a nice-looking journal. LJ got him some pencils for that journal and $10. It wasn’t a lot, but they tried to get him things they hoped would be of some use to him.

“Thanks guys.” Declan said, bringing his gifts closer to him. For a second, it almost looked like Declan was gonna cry.

“You want a hug?” Nick asked.

Declan shook his head. “Nah, I’m alright. Want to share some of my cupcake?” He asked as he tore off a small piece of the cupcake, and offered it to Nick, who politely turned it down. As did everyone else when Declan offered it to them.

 _You don’t look alright to me,_ LJ thought. Everyday Declan came to school looking skinnier made LJ want to go to his uncle and tell him everything. He knew they couldn’t keep this up forever. Something bad was going to happen, and he was going to say something, and soon. Maybe if Ray did agree to let Declan have a sleepover at their apartment, LJ could tell him. He could stay with them, right? The last thing LJ wanted was to be the reason that his friend was sent to Augusta.

No, the last thing he wanted was for Declan to end up in the hospital or something.

As he watched Declan devour his food, LJ worried about what would happen when school shut down for Christmas break, and Declan would lose one of his meals. Maybe there really was a way for LJ to convince Ray to let Declan stay with them. Their apartment was kind of small, but they could make due. If not, maybe someone else in town could help.

 _Ray’s a lawyer._ LJ told himself. _And he’s smart. He can figure something out._

There had to be a way to help Declan. There just had to be.

* * *

Henry was reminded of the fact that his castle was destroyed once school ended. He had begun thinking about what he and his friends would do. It was when he wondered if he should show it to Ava and Nick that he remembered that there was nothing left to show.

His mom made sure of that. Henry wondered if it was retaliation for the rumors that David filed for divorce against Kathryn. He hadn’t seen David or Kathryn in a while, but it would explain his mom’s anger recently.

Still, Henry was determined to not let this ruin the day. It was Declan’s birthday after all, and Henry wanted to get his friend to smile.

That just made Henry worry more about Declan’s pale demeanor. Typically, Declan was paler than Henry, Ava, or Nick was, but lately he’d started looking downright sick. Henry tried to give Declan more of his lunch, but Declan refused. Even the others tried to do the same, but Declan just kept insisting that he was fine.

 _He keeps saying he’s fine, but that’s a lie_. Henry thought.

Henry hadn’t meant to tell Killian all of those things yesterday, but he couldn’t lie to him. He had thought about it, but for one, he knew that Killian would spot the lie immediately, and Henry wasn’t convinced that he would be able to lie well. For another, his mind had flashed back to when he broke his promise about going into the mines, or when Emma talked to him in her car the night the stranger came. He had told Killian as much as he dared, and he had hoped that would be enough.

Looking at Declan shuffle out of school, with LJ making sure to walk beside him, as if to make sure that he wouldn’t fall over, Henry wondered if he should’ve said something sooner.

Henry saw the concerned looks on Ava and Nick’s face, and Henry knew it was only a matter of time before one of them cracked.

 _You can’t let anyone know that he’s homeless._ Henry told himself. _If they do, Mom will make them take him to Augusta. If he crosses over the town line, he could end up getting even more hurt, or even killed._

Declan was clutching onto that egg of his, and Henry couldn’t help but wonder if that was a major part of his story, a clue of who he was in a past life. Henry had tried to look before, but sometimes there were just so many stories somehow crammed into that one book that it made his eyes hurt. If Henry found something about who Declan really was-

“Hey!” Declan shouted as a random boy ripped his egg out of his hands, and then began to toss it between himself and another boy. “Give it back!”

“Relax, we’re just playing!” The boy who took it shouted back, now dodging both Declan and LJ.

“This isn’t funny.” LJ said. “Now give it back. It’s not yours.”

“We’ll give it back after we’re done.” The other boy said, catching the egg like a football as he began to sidestep Declan, who was weakly trying to catch him.

Henry, Ava, and Nick rushed the boy, and Henry managed to wrench it out of his arms before he could throw it again.

The boy rolled his eyes. “You guys are no fun.”

“Just go.” Ava told him with a glare, and the boys just scoffed and left, like somehow they were the ones who unreasonable.

Henry turned the fake egg over in his egg, and he was surprised that it was heavier than it looked. He could feel the plastic and the cheap grey paint, so he had expected it to be light and empty. However, it weighed about as much as he thought a real egg would. Also, he almost thought it-

“Declan?” LJ asked, his voice tinged with worry.

Henry looked up and found that LJ was holding onto Declan’s arm, with Declan swaying unsteadily on his feet.

“Declan, you okay?” LJ asked, but Declan wasn’t responding.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Henry said as he approached. “We got your-”

Henry’s words died on his lips as he saw Declan vomit, spewing bad-smelling yellow stuff onto the ground. The next second he collapsed, only being kept upright by LJ hastily wrapping his arms around him.

“Declan!?” LJ asked, and soon Henry, Ava, and Nick swarmed around them.

“What happened?” Ava asked at the same time Nick asked, “Is he okay?”

LJ turned Declan over, and to Henry’s rising horror he found that Declan’s eyes were closed, and he was passed out.

“Declan!?” Henry shouted, kneeling next to him as LJ placed him on the ground, a few feet away from the vomit.

“Help!” LJ shouted. “We need help!”

“We’ll get a teacher!” Ava shouted as she and Nick sprinted back into the school.

“Henry, what happened?” A new voice asked.

Henry looked up and saw that it was Paige, who was now part of a growing crowd of kids who had looks of confusion and fear on their faces.

“I-I…” Henry said, unable to form words, wondering what could’ve happened. Was Declan poisoning? Why did he pass out? Is he going to be okay? He then looked back at Declan. “Come on, Declan, wake up. Please wake up.” Henry pleaded.

_Please, please. Please._

* * *

The minute the station got the call that Declan Holtzer was in the hospital, Emma grabbed the files she and Graham had found, and they headed to the hospital. She had a bad feeling that she would need those.  

When Emma and Graham arrived at the hospital, they were soon directed to the waiting room of the wing where Declan was being treated, where they found Henry and LJ sitting there in tears. In LJ’s hands was the fake egg that Emma remembered belonged to Declan.

“Henry?” Emma asked.

The next second, Henry was in her arms, and he started crying. Emma passed the files to Graham in order to better hold onto Henry.

“He’s going to be fine.” Emma assured him as she led him back to his seat next to LJ. “The doctors are going to fix him up.”

Henry didn't respond with words, but cried harder into her shoulder.

“Did you two see what happened?” Graham asked the boys.

LJ was the only one calm enough to explain what had happened. Declan was sleepy and weak at school, but nothing indicated that he was ready to pass out. Then a boy took Declan’s fake egg, which made him angry, but he couldn’t get it back until his friends took it back. Then he was unresponsive, he vomited (from Henry’s description, it sounded like bile), and then he passed out. A teacher called an ambulance, and it took him away, with Henry and LJ racing after it.  

Graham and Emma shared concerned looks.

That’s when Dr. Whale came into view. “Sheriff, Deputy.” He said as he waved them over.

“We’ll be right back.” Emma told them as she and Graham went to talk to Dr. Whale.

“We’re here for Declan Holtzer.” Graham said. “What happened?”

Dr. Whale wasted no time listing his ailments. “The boy passed out due to low blood sugar. He’s malnourished and dehydrated, and we believe that he suffered diarrhea recently. We also found evidence of exposure. Not to mention the fact that the clothes he was brought in hadn’t been washed in awhile. We’ve currently got him on IV fluids, and we’re hoping that he’ll wake up soon.”

Emma and Graham were both openly shocked. They knew from the files and Declan's attitude that he didn't seem to have a good home life, but they never imagined that it was that bad.

Emma suppressed the memories of her really bad foster homes where she had similar experiences.

Dr. Whale seemed just as shocked and disgusted by the whole thing. “How did his parents let it get this far?”

“Sadly, I don’t think this is an isolated incident.” Graham said as he opened one of the files they found. “Terrence and Claudia Holtzer. Parents to Gavin, Oscar, and Declan Holtzer. Their neighbors called the station several times last year over complaints of domestic disturbance, usually the parents arguing with each other.” Graham then closed that file, and opened up the one they found at the clerk’s office, the one that nearly broke Emma’s heart. “Both Gavin and Oscar died roughly a year ago due to an accident in the woods.”

“Both of them?” Dr. Whale asked.

“Both of them.” Emma confirmed, trying to keep her tone steady at how young they were. She remembered how shocked she was to learn that Declan _had_ brothers, since he never mentioned them before, let alone that they died. What’s more, she suspected something was off. It was bad enough that one kid died an accidental death, but two? Plus, there was the fact that they died not far apart.

Graham had explained that the coroner was positive that nothing was amiss, and there was little he could do to investigate, as they genuinely seemed to be accidents.

Whale looked as unsettled about that as Emma felt. “So, am I to assume that I should let you know if the parents come by to collect him?” He asked them, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of giving Declan back to his parents.

"Yes." Graham said. "I also think that it's best to alert your staff that the parents might present a danger to the child."

Emma heartily agreed. She’d never even met Declan’s parents, and she already despised them.

Dr. Whale agreed, and said that he would call them the minute Declan woke up, and went back to complete his duties.

Emma and Graham went back to the kids, who stopped whispering to each other the minute the adults appeared.

“Is Declan going to be okay?” LJ asked.

“He’s still unconscious, but the doctors are optimistic.” Graham said.

“What were you two talking about?” Emma asked them, taking note of the increasingly guilty looks on their faces. Emma looked at Graham, and it looked like he suspected something too. The two of them kneeled in front of the kids. “Hey guys, has Declan ever talked about his home life? About his brothers?”

To her surprise, both Henry and LJ looked confused, with LJ saying, “Declan doesn’t have any brothers.”

“Yes, he does.” Graham said, somewhat taken aback that the two boys remained clueless. “Their names were Gavin and Oscar. He never mentioned them?”

“No.” Henry said as both he and LJ shook their heads. That’s when Henry got a dawning look on his face, and asked, “Wait, ‘were’? What happened to them?”

“They died.” Graham informed them, and both kids looked shocked.

“He never told us he had brothers.” LJ said.

Henry looked hurt over not being trusted with that information.

LJ just seemed in shock over the whole thing, and he stared at the fake egg in his hands. “Do...Can I give this to Declan? I know he’s still asleep, but…” LJ couldn’t finish his words as he began crying.

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay.” Graham tried to comfort him.

“No, it’s not.” LJ cried. “This is all my fault.”

“How is it your fault?” Graham said.

LJ then looked at Henry and LJ said, “We have to tell them.”

Henry looked ready to argue, but any protest died on his lips when he realized the severity of the situation. Instead, he looked at Emma and said in a wavering voice, “I’m sorry.”

“Henry, what is it?” Emma coaxed.

This time, Henry was the one calm enough to explain things while LJ cried. Emma listened in stunned silence as Henry began to explain that neither he or LJ ever met Declan’s parents, and the reason for that was because they weren’t in town. Declan was apparently living in a shack in the middle of the woods, and had been doing so for quite some time. They only learned about that very recently, and both of them kept their mouths shut because they were afraid that Declan would end up in the same situation Ava and Nick were in before their dad stepped up. They had noticed that Declan was getting worse, but hoped that they could find a place for him to live before Christmas break came, but it was clear that they were completely out of their depth.

Emma felt sick to her stomach that these monsters just abandoned their son. This kid could have starved to death. This was the last living child they had and they just _left._ What was _wrong_ with these people?

Henry looked at her, and pleaded, “You can’t take him to Augusta. You can’t take him over the town line.”

"Henry..." Emma handed him a nearby tissue box before gently clasping one of his hands in one of hers.  "I don't know if Graham and I have a choice. If Declan has no relatives to take him in..."

“He can’t go.” Henry protested before wiping tears from his eyes with a tissue. He handed the box to LJ before frantically saying, “He’s already in bad shape. If he crosses the town line, he might die. You can’t tell my mom about what’s happening.”

Graham's expression was pained.

Emma knew that he was no more in a hurry to tell Regina than she was, but he was the sheriff. His job was on the line.

Graham asked, “LJ, does Ray know you’re here?”

LJ shook his head.

“We’re going to call him to let him know. I’m sure he’s worried about you.” Graham said. “In the meantime, we’ll do what we can, but I can’t make any promises.”

Both boys nodded, either because they were too emotionally exhausted to argue, or because they knew that they didn’t have much of a choice. Maybe both.

Graham called Ray to let him know of the situation, and where the boys were. When he was done, he and Emma walked a few feet away from the boys so their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

“This isn’t good.” Emma said.

“No, it is not.” Graham said as he looked over the files they got from the clerk again. “It wasn’t just his brothers. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents died before Declan was born, and neither of his parents had any siblings. He’s got no other living, viable relatives.”

“Even if his parents spontaneously showed up, I’d be hard-pressed to give him back to them.” Emma tersely said. She’s never even met Declan’s parents, and she already despised them.

“Same goes for me.” Graham replied, closing the file with a sigh, a look of shame on his face. “How could I miss this? I went to that house to break up the disturbance, give them warnings. After I hadn’t gotten any calls in a while, I just thought that the message finally sunk in. I had no idea this was happening.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Emma told him.

“I still should’ve noticed something.” Graham replied quickly, still looked ashamed of himself. “First it was the Zimmer twins and now Declan, and he could’ve died. How many other kids do I not know about?”

Emma tried to calm him down. “Hey, hey. Let’s focus on the kid that’s in the hospital right now and see if we can help him. Sad to say, but I don’t think he’s going to be leaving the hospital anytime soon. Maybe we can use that time to our advantage.”

Graham took a few calming breaths. “You’re right. Let’s see if there’s something we can do. I mean, even Regina’s not cruel enough to force a sick child out of the hospital and into another city, right?”

Graham did not look sure of that, and Emma wasn’t sure of that either. Nonetheless, they would have to do what they could with the time they had, and hope that Declan woke up soon to answer their questions. Yesterday, he was just a kid her son hung out with. Now, there were so many things Emma hadn’t realized she didn’t know, and each new piece of information just added onto the confusing mystery.

Just who was this kid?

* * *

_Dummy placed some wild flowers he found nearby on his brothers’ graves before he took off into the forest, hoping to avoid his parents’ wrath. It took some time before he was deep enough in the woods to stop hearing the echoes of his parents’ fighting._

_It hadn’t even been a month since Stone and Forrest, and Dummy was filled with rage over how his parents could resume fighting with each other while his brothers were in the ground._

_Still, Dummy couldn’t_ entirely _fault them for that. After all, unless his family scrounge up the money they owed to live on the land, they’d lose their home and have to find somewhere else to live. Their home wasn’t much, and their land even less so, but it was still a place to sleep. They barely got by as it was, and Dummy would hate to see how they would treat him when they no longer had a place to live._

_Dummy decided to walk into the woods, hoping to find something to eat and wanting to get away from his parents before they turned their attention on him. He didn’t dare ask either of them for food in the state they were in. If he were lucky, they would just berate him for wasting resources by being, you know, hungry. If he was unlucky, they’d lock him in the trunk again and shake it. When his brothers were still alive, their parents made them do it, but now they’d just have to conduct that cruelty themselves._

_Dummy’s stomach rumbled. He only had a few nuts in the little pouch he carried, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to hunt any animals, as he didn’t think he’d have enough strength to chase or kill anything._

_Dummy heard a thump, and then a loud moan. Scared, Dummy picked up a rock and quietly crept closer to the sound of the noise, mentally preparing himself to fight or run if need be._

_He came upon a small clearing, where he found an old man lying on the ground in pain._

_The old man noticed him. “Young boy, please, I fell. Please help me.”_

_Dummy, whilst still unsure of this old man’s intentions, held onto the rock as he went over and helped the old man into a sitting position._

_“Oh, thank you so much.” The old man said._

_“You’re welcome.” Dummy replied. “What are you doing out here?”_

_“I could ask you the same thing.” The old man said._

_“I’m looking for food.” Dummy told him._

_“What a coincidence.” The old man said. “So am I. My land is parched, and I can barely walk as it is. I don’t know what will happen if I don’t get anything to eat.”_

_The old man looked so downtrodden, so hungry and miserable, and Dummy worried that he wasn’t strong enough to find any food. As hungry as Dummy was, he was able least able to run and walk. This old man looked ready to keel over any second._

_Without thinking, Dummy said, “I have a few nuts. You want some?”_

What are you doing, you idiot?, _a voice that to Dummy sounded suspiciously like his brothers berated him in his mind._ You’re hungry enough as it is. Don’t make it worse.  

_Still, the words had already come out, and Dummy couldn’t go back on them now. He reached into his little bag and pulled out the nuts. “You can take half, and I’ll take the other half. Maybe we can help each other find food.”_

_The old man seemed genuinely surprised, like he hadn’t expected Dummy to do what he had just done._

_Dummy, a little annoyed, asked, “You want the nuts or not?”_

_The old man grabbed all of the nuts Dummy had, but before Dummy could protest, the old man cupped them in his closed hands, shook them, and then gave all but one back to Dummy. After popping the one he’d kept into his mouth, the old man said, “Have the rest, boy. You’ll need your strength. Go on.”_

_Dummy hesitantly ate them, but he was glad he did. For some unfathomable reason, his stomach became_ full. _They tasted like regular nuts still, but for the first time in months, perhaps ever, Dummy had a full stomach. He was energized, and he no longer felt that painful cramp in his stomach he’d always had._

_Then a thought struck him. “Are you a wizard?” Dummy asked._

_“Of a sort.” The old man said proudly. “And I wasn’t completely honest with you. The truth is, I planned on finding something very important, but I’m afraid I’m not up to the task. You, however, a strong young boy, could be the right one for the job.”_

_“What job?” Dummy asked suspiciously._

_The old man said, “Legend has it that a tree in this very forest contains never ending riches for the one worthy enough to take it down.”_

_Dummy didn’t believe it. It sounded too good to be true._

_“I didn’t believe it myself.” The old man said with a look that showed that he probably guessed Dummy’s thoughts. “However, I believe I have located that very tree.”_

_The old man then pointed to something behind Dummy._

_Dummy turned around, and saw that the old man was pointing to something in the distance. At first, he didn’t think there was anything there, but the more he looked he could see, just hidden beyond other trees, was a smaller tree that looked like it was made of_ gold.

_“Is that...gold?” Dummy asked._

_“Yes, I believe it is.” The old man said confidently. “Now, how about I propose a deal?”_

_“A deal?” Dummy asked cautiously._

_“I’m not asking for much.” The old man said. “If you manage to take down that tree, I’ll let you keep whatever treasure you find. In return, I shall return at some point and reclaim my portion of that prize.”_

_“What’s in the tree?” Dummy asked._

_“Well it’s a golden tree so I imagine it’s something made of gold.” The old man quipped before reaching out and clasping Dummy’s arms in his weathered hands, pulling Dummy closer. “Just imagine it. Even the smallest bit of gold can buy you a month’s worth of food, maybe even more. No more starving, no more wondering when the next meal will come in. And all you’d have to do is take down that tree, and share your treasure with me. Oh, and tell no one about it. Can you imagine some greedy hearts learning of this treasure?”_

_“Have you met my parents?” Dummy asked in a deadpan tone._

_“Haven’t had the misfortune.” The old man snarked before releasing Dummy’s arms. He then reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of paper and a quill. “Can you write?”_

_Dummy paused before nodding. He could write a little bit, like the letters of his name. Forrest had met a teacher once who was sympathetic to him, and taught him to write a little. Dummy couldn’t do much more than his name, but that was a lot more than he used to know._

_“Excellent.” The old man said before offering the quill to Dummy. “So, do we have a deal?”_

_Dummy took the quill and wrote down his name in horrible handwriting. As he did so, he felt something race throughout his body before the feeling briefly settled on his heart, and he felt like something had clenched over it. Soon though, the feeling was gone_

_The old man took the quill back, and looked at where Dummy had signed his name. As the old man put the paper and quill back into his robe, he asked with a quirked eyebrow, “Dummy? Oh, your parents truly spent a great deal of time on that one, didn’t they?”_

_“I can’t remember what my actual name is.” Dummy said defensively, his cheeks beginning to burn. “They just called me dummy for a while, so I thought that was my name.”_

_If he did have a real name, Dummy couldn’t remember it. Even his brothers didn’t remember if their names were actually Stone and Forrest, but their parents never bothered to correct them._

_Sometimes Dummy had to marvel at his parents’ capacity to be both lazy and mean._

_The old man almost looked sympathetic. “One last thing.” The old man said as he reached into his robes, and took out a shovel before handing it to Dummy. “You might find this useful. Now go on, and get your treasure.”_

_Dummy turned around, and walked a few steps before realizing something. “Hey, what’s your na-”_

_Dummy turned back around, but found that the old man was gone. After calling out for the old man a few more times, Dummy took note that the sky above him was dimming. He knew he’d only have an hour or so of daylight left before it was completely dark._

_He needed to get started._

_Dummy at first tried to force the tree down. He pulled, pushed, and even hit the shovel with it, but it didn’t make a dent. There wasn’t even a scratch in the golden tree. In fact, when he tried to do that, he seemed to get hurt by the tree._

_Eventually, Dummy then looked at this shovel in his hands, proclaimed himself an idiot worthy of his name, and began digging, It was a long and strangely arduous task trying to uproot the tree. The more he digged, the more roots he found, and they looked like the different metals he’d seen in his short life. Silver, bronze, steel, and even some he didn’t recognize. At one point, his shovel broke, and Dummy resorted to digging with his hands._

_It was bitter work, and he was exhausted by the end as the sky had turned dark, but it was worth it. Finally, he found the last of the root, and began to pull the tree as hard as he could. Unfortunately, he was so tired that he could barely lift his arms. He was_ so _close. He was almost there. Why couldn’t he just get this one thing right?_

_He laid on the ground, breathing heavily, staring at the stairs with both exhausted and sad tears welling up. “Please.” He said to no one, or perhaps anyone that might be listening. “Please just...just give me a little more strength. I can do this just...I just need a little more strength.”_

_No one answered his plea, but Dummy was used to that. His whole life, his parents ignored him or deemed his existence as a burden, and encouraged his own brothers to do the same. Even after his brothers died, they barely cared about him. When Stone and Forrest were alive, however mean they could be when prompted, they at least tried to look after him, and they didn’t exactly enjoy the cruelty their parents encouraged in them._

_Now Dummy was alone, and though his parents were alive, he had no one to look out for him except himself._

_This angered Dummy. He hadn’t asked to be born. He hadn’t asked to be a burden. His parents didn’t have to keep him. They could’ve given him to someone else, but they just kept him around. Why? They clearly didn’t want him. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to go out looking for food when one of his parents’ schemes to make money fast didn’t work, or landed them in worse trouble. They barely even showed favor to Stone and Forrest, and seemed even more consumed with themselves after their deaths._ Dummy _was the one that visited their graves. He was the one who made the headstones, however crude and small they could be._

_Dummy had to do a lot of things on his own, and this wouldn’t be the first or last time he did so._

_With that in mind, and with the anger fueling him, Dummy got up, said, “I’m not giving up,” and got back to work._

_Dummy got into the hole he’d dug around the tree, used his hands to brush away more dirt, and began to attempt to push it over._

_“Come on.” Dummy urged, wondering if gold was always supposed to be this hard. “Come on, just tip over.” Dummy felt a surge of hope as the heavy tree finally began to bridge. “Yes, that’s it. Just…” Dummy trailed off, putting all the strength he had in his small dirt-covered body into pushing the tree, until at least it finally tipped over, landing on the nearby ground with a heavy thunk._

_The underside of the tree was hollow, and to his immense shock, Dummy saw a creature squirming in there. He tried to step back, but the creature inside soon came out and began to honk._

What in the world?, _Dummy thought as a golden goose flew out of the tree, and began to circle above him._

_The golden goose eventually landed in front of Dummy, though began to make distressed noises as it waddled in a circle._

_“Um...are you okay?” Dummy asked hesitantly before the golden goose honked again, this time in pain._

_Dummy watched in astonishment as the golden goose began to lay an egg in front of him, and he nearly jumped when the egg fell out of the golden goose and onto the ground with a heavy thunk. Instead of breaking like most eggs would, it remained intact, and the sound it made when it fell against the ground was more reminiscent of metal striking the ground._

_The golden goose then used its beak to nudge the egg towards Dummy._

_“You want me to have it?” Dummy asked in astonishment._

_The golden goose simply gave the egg one more nudge before looking at Dummy patiently._

_Dummy hesitantly picked up the egg, which true to its appearance was as heavy as Dummy expected gold to be. “Thanks.” He said as he turned it over in his hand. This was enough gold to get him a month, maybe two months’ of food. Maybe it could get even more. The old man was right! Dummy would’ve have to starve!_

_Dummy looked at the golden goose appreciatively. “Thank you. You have a name?”_

_The golden goose stared at him blankly._

_Dummy then suggested, “How about Goldy?”_

_The golden goose actually looked unimpressed._

_“Yeah, I’m not so good with names.” Dummy chuckled nervously before saying, “This is unreal. This actually happened. I have to tell-”_

_The old man’s words came back to him._ Can you imagine some greedy hearts learning of this treasure?

They can never know, _Dummy thought. His parents could never know about this. Not just because of his deal with the old man, but because he knew that if they found out about the golden goose, they would sell it, or destroy the golden goose like they destroyed everything else. He had to protect the golden goose from his parents, and anyone else that might try to steal and hurt her._

_He couldn’t hide her at home. His parents would discover her there. And he needed to make sure she’d be safe. Besides, if he was home if his parents discovered the truth, they would-_

Run. _A voice in his mind told him._ Just run.

_He couldn’t just run...could he? He couldn’t just leave his brothers-_

Your brothers are dead. _The voice said._ Your parents don’t care.

_They...they didn’t. They truly didn’t, and as much as that broke his heart, as Dummy always wished that his parents would just love him, he knew what he had to do._

_“This should be enough gold to help them.” Dummy told the golden goose. “All I need to do is put it in front of our house, then we can go. It’s not safe for you there.” Then, he added more quietly, “It’s not safe for either of us.”_

_Dummy then began to walk towards his home, and to his happy surprise, the golden goose walked right alongside him._

_“I hope you lay another egg soon.” Dummy told the golden goose. “I think we’re gonna have a long journey ahead of us.”_

* * *

The boys were sitting at a table with dejected looks. Neither of them were keen to touch the food Mrs. Lucas - who insisted she called them Granny - had brought them. They’d barely spoken a word since they explained what happened to Ray. LJ felt his spirits dampen as he recalled the look of disappointment his uncle had when LJ revealed his deceit. It was only because Ray made him maintain eye contact that LJ also saw the sorrow Ray felt for Declan, as well as the pain in his eyes.

LJ wondered if it was just because of Declan, or if it was because Ray was thinking of LJ’s biological parents again. Either way, it was enough to make LJ feel even worse.

Ray had wanted to stay with them, but an emergency meeting of some kind pulled him away, so Ashley was asked to babysit last minute.

That’s how LJ and Henry ended up at Granny’s, with baby Alexandra in a baby carrier next to LJ. He was just staring at his food, occasionally playing with the baby, though without the usual satisfaction that came with it. Henry was just consumed with his storybook, and had been combing through the pages since they got there. If he was looking for something, he hadn’t found it yet.

 _I should’ve said something sooner,_ LJ berated himself. _If I had, none of this would’ve happened._

Perhaps the only good thing he’d done all day was leave Declan’s eggs by his bedside, and making the nurses promise to not take it away, as Declan would need it when he woke up.

He’d had his reasons for keeping silent. Declan would’ve been sent to Augusta to live in a foster home, and maybe they would’ve never seen him again. After seeing the state of where he lived, learned the truth about his life, LJ didn’t want him to lose anything else.

 _I didn’t even know he had brothers._ He thought. That stuck out to him the most, besides his friend being in the hospital that is. Declan had never mentioned brothers _once_ , to either of them. Then again, he never talked about his parents before, and maybe for good reason. LJ was filled with almost overwhelming hatred toward Declan’s parents. By all accounts, they had just left him there. They hadn’t even left him with someone like LJ’s parents had. They just left him to fend for himself, and LJ hated them all the more for it.

That’s when Granny appeared. “Your food is going to get cold.” Granny  told them gently.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lucas.” LJ said in a soft voice. “I’m not very hungry.”

“Me neither.” Henry said as he robotically turned page after page.

Granny pursed her lips. Her mothering instinct didn’t like to hear that. “You’re growing boys.” She tried to encourage sternly. “It’s not good to let food go to waste.”

Without meaning to, Granny’s words made LJ burst into a new round of tears, as he felt so selfish for denying food when his friend nearly starved to death. This in turn caused Alexandra to begin crying. Henry was nearly close to crying to, but tried to hold it back by looking more into his book.

After Ashley came by to comfort her baby in the back, Granny sat on LJ’s side of the booth, and brought him into a hug.

“Shh, shh, it’s alright.” Granny said as she rubbed his back.

“It’s my fault.” LJ sobbed. “I should’ve said something. I’m the oldest. I should’ve done something. Now Declan’s in the hospital, and-and-”

“Shh.” Granny soothed. “It’s not your fault. You’re just a bunch of kids. You’re not supposed to do things his parents were supposed to take care of.”

That only upset LJ further.

The bells at the front door of the diner chimed, and LJ saw that Ava and Nick had entered, breathless. Upon spotting them, they headed in their direction.

“I’m alright, Mrs. Lucas.” LJ said.

A voice asked, _How many times did Declan say he was alright, and you knew it wasn’t the truth?_

“Are you sure?” She asked.

LJ nodded.

Only then did she get out of the both, but not before gently urging both he and Henry to eat more. Oh, and to call her Granny.

Ava and Nick arrived at their booth, with Ava sitting on Henry’s side and Nick sitting on LJ’s side.

“We looked everywhere for you guys.” Ava said, still huffing to catch her breath.

“We tried the hospital, but you guys weren’t there.” Nick said. “It took forever for our dad to let us check it out.”

“We got to visit Declan for a little bit.” Ava said, looking distressed. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

Henry could only nod. The lump in his throat made it hard to speak.

“They know where he’s been living.” LJ told the twins. “We had to tell them the truth. We couldn’t let this keep going.”

Ava nodded, and said, “Yeah, I get it. I knew that we couldn’t stay at the shack forever, and especially not Declan.”

“We just didn’t want him to get in trouble.” Nick added sadly. “Are they going to take him to Augusta now?”

“Not right now.” LJ told them. “He’s too sick to leave the hospital.”

“Are we sure he doesn’t have any other relatives?” Nick asked with a touch of hope in his voice.

“I don’t think there’s anyone.” LJ replied.

Henry just kept turning the pages of his book, and at this point it began to anger LJ into a fervor.

“Will you stop looking at your book and talk?” LJ demanded, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Ava and Nick stiffen. At least it got Henry to stop. “Looking at your book isn’t going to help Declan.”

“It could.” Henry protested, looking angrily at LJ. “It helped us figure out who Ava and Nick were.”

Ignoring the twins’ confused looks, LJ burst out, “What are we going to find out Henry? That Declan’s parents suck? That they abandoned him? That unless we find something to keep him here, we might never see him again?”

Everyone was shocked at such an outburst from LJ. Normally, he was the one who kept things calm. In the times when Declan and Henry would argue, as they were the most stubborn of the group, LJ was the one to break it up. For the normally even-tempered boy to say such things in such an angered manner put them all off balance.

Henry, overwhelmed and emotional, shot back, “What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and do nothing?”

“That’s what we’ve been doing!” LJ suddenly shouted. “We did nothing! We didn’t say anything because we were being stupid!”

“Hey, hey!” Granny suddenly said, and Ava and Nick looked like they wanted to sink into their seats. “That’s enough. You’re both emotional, and your friend is in pain, but now is not the time to turn on each other.”

LJ saw that Henry’s face as scrunched up, and it broke LJ’s heart to think that he was going to be responsible for hurting another one of his friends. LJ felt like he was screwing up everything.

“I’m sorry, Henry.” LJ said in a cracked voice. He then reached over the table to grab one of Henry’s hands, and he was glad that Henry didn’t pull away. “I’m sorry.”

Henry just silently held onto his hand. Eventually, with some seat changes, Henry consented to a hug. Both friends silently comforted and apologized to each other, and each sat there worrying about what the future might hold for Declan, wracked with guilt that they might not be able to save him.

* * *

 _This is where Declan Holtzer lives._ Graham thought as he took in the sight of the lonely little shack, but correcting his thoughts. _Lived. One way or another, that boy is never staying here again._

Graham and Emma found the shack fairly deep into the woods, and Graham had to wonder how it hadn’t fallen apart yet. The windows were cracked, some of the wooden boards were falling off, and overall it just looked sad. It did contain the bare essentials such as access to a nearby river, which he guessed is where Declan might have bathed, though he certainly hoped that Declan didn’t also defecate into the safe place.

Inside, there was a small bed, a small table, and also some food, along with other things that Graham recognized.

“I guess this is where all those ‘misplaced items’ Mr. Clark complained about ended up.” Graham said as he found some medicine, toothbrushes and toothpaste, among other items.

“No wonder he can’t keep anything down.” Emma said as she found a number of empty chip bags and soda bottles. “He’s been eating nothing but junk food. Oh, and a few boxes of cereal.”

“Looks like he tried to get into water bottles.” Graham said as he pulled out a plastic-wrapped container of the stuff, with a few bottles left.

“Not to mention as many blankets as he could find.” Emma said as she pulled back the several layers of blankets on the bed, then recoiled. “Oh damn. I don’t think this mattress has been clean for a while.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Graham told her. He’d be lying if he hadn’t smelled something bad in here, and he wasn’t keen to directly look at the potential cause just yet.

 _God this just keeps getting worse and worse,_ Graham thought with a cringe. It also brought back unpleasant memories from his own childhood, of the intense bitterness he felt towards his own parents. Abandoning a child was bad enough, and maybe, just maybe, they could have good reasons for doing so, though to Graham those would have to be extraordinary circumstances. However, to so callously abandon a child to fend for themselves as Declan’s parents had - as Graham’s own parents had - was inexcusable.

“Graham? Hey Graham.” Emma’s voice broke into his thoughts, and Graham snapped back into reality. “You were kind of lost for a bit.”

“Just…” Graham trailed off with a shake of his head. “Sometimes I just can’t understand people.”

Emma seemed to agree. After some sort of internal debating with herself, she finally said, “Some people...just don’t deserve to be parents. They really just don’t.” After a long silence, with both of them immersed in the sorrowful air of the shack, they got back to work. They cordoned off the area with police tape, taken photos and bagged as much evidence as they could. At last, when they sealed off the door with a special tape, Graham and Emma got in their cars to go back. It was unbearable to stay in there a minute longer.

* * *

_Dummy wondered, not for the first time, if it was a bad thing to not miss his parents._

_He and the golden goose, who after a long and painstaking process seemed to react well to the name ‘Sunshine’, had been on the road for months. Not all of it was spent on the road of course. Every now and again, Dummy and Sunshine would stay at an inn in a town, always an inn with a stable, and use one of Sunshine’s golden eggs as currency for room and board. They would never overstay their welcome, as Dummy would always use the last of their reserves to buy food, new clothes, and anything else he could carry that needed replacing. Then they’d get back on the road, and they’d use the next egg to finance their next stay._

_They never got a horse. The one time he tried saw Sunshine show just how jealous she could be when it came to Dummy._

_It wasn’t always easy. From time-to-time, someone would get it in their head to try to take Sunshine from Dummy. Sometimes they would bargain or threaten, in which case Sunshine would honk in a very unhappy way. Other times they would try to use force, or wait until Dummy was asleep to steal her. Time and time again, Sunshine pulled a funny little trick where everyone who laid hands on her couldn’t release her, and only Dummy was allowed to pick her up and be able to put her down._

_It was dangerous living sometimes, but nonetheless Dummy was happy. He was really happy._

_It was nighttime. They were in a forest, and Dummy had cooked a rabbit, and had just taken it off the fire when Sunshine waddled over. Dummy laughed as Sunshine began fanning her wings to try to cool it down._

_“Okay, okay, I’ll be careful.” He chuckled, making sure she watched as he tried to cool the hot rabbit. Taking a bite of the rabbit, Dummy said with his mouth full, “Hey, you mind not sitting on me again while I sleeping? I’m not an egg you know.”_

_Somehow, Sunshine managed a look that showed that she thought differently._

_Dummy, overcome with affection, said, “I love you Sunshine.”_

_Sunshine obviously didn’t say anything back, but she waddled closer to him before eventually sitting herself down on the ground next to him. He got some food from Sunshine’s food pouch, and laid it before her, and the two of them ate their meal together._

_Sometime after he finished the rabbit, and finished off his canteen of water, Sunshine made familiar pained noises._

_Dummy instantly got some worn blankets he’d brought for such an occasion ready, making them into a hastily made nest. “There you go, that’s it.” Dummy said as Sunshine got on the, circling around as she honked in pain. “You’re doing fine.”_

_Just like all the other times before, Sunshine honked in pain as she gave birth to an egg, but this time she did something strange. She sat on it. Normally she’d just nudge the golden egg to Dummy, and wait until he put it in his money pouch for safe keeping before returning to do whatever it was she wanted to do. She had never been attached to the eggs before, so this struck Dummy as add._

_“What is it, girl?” Dummy asked, crouching down to try to catch a glimpse at whatever it was Sunshine was hiding._

_Sunshine didn’t move for almost an hour, and when she did she cautiously moved away from it, allowing Dummy to get a look at what she laid._

_Instead of the usual golden egg, this time it was an egg that looked silver. When Dummy touched it, it felt heavy like metal, just like the other ones had. This time, however, Dummy felt something emanate from it. Something warm. Something, he was surprised to think, might very well be alive._

_“This...is new.” Dummy said. “Still, we might get something for it at the market.”_

_Sunshine honked indignantly, and continued to do so when Dummy tried to put the egg in the money pouch. Sunshine even nipped at him for attempting to do so again._

_“What is it?” He asked annoyed. “What do you want?”_

_It was only then that Sunshine grabbed another pouch, and placed it in front of Dummy. It was his ‘special things’ pouch. Nothing was in it of course. There was nothing special to Dummy except for Sunshine, but he had mused in front of her that he might need it one day._

_Sunshine apparently thought today was that day._

_“Okaaaay.” Dummy drew out the word before taking the special pouch, and putting the silver egg in it. He even attached it to his belt for good measure._

_Only then did Sunshine appear satisfied, and nestled in her blanket nest._

_It was perhaps a half hour afterwards, when Dummy thought about getting ready for sleep, that Sunshine became alert, and instantly Dummy was on guard. He grabbed a knife he bought from a town early in their adventures, and prepared himself to use it._

_He heard rustling in the bush leaves, and both Dummy and Sunshine became agitated._

_That’s when two family people emerged from the bushes._

_“Mother?” Dummy asked in shock. “Father?”_

_There his parents stood, in finer clothes than he’d ever seen them, and with faces that weren’t as gaunt as before. Dummy had made sure to find a way to send an egg back to his parents at times, usually through a messenger he could hire. He had always expressed the importance of the messengers never revealing where the gold came from, but now he worried that perhaps one of their had gone back on their word._

_“My boy!” His father greeted him with a smile. “It’s been so long.”_

_His father tried to step closer, but Sunshine honked in warning, causing his father to stay put._

_“How did you find me?” Dummy asked, now worried about the fact that his parents had seen Sunshine. Maybe he could convince them that she was just an oddly colored goose?_

_“Darling, we’ve looked everywhere for you.” His mother said gently, taking a step closer to him. “When you didn’t come back...we were so worried.”_

Since when has Mother ever spoken to me gently? _, Dummy thought suspiciously. “You were?” He couldn’t help but ask._

_“Of course we were.” His mother said. “You’re our son. We’d never want anything to happen to you.” His mother tried to take a step closer, but Sunshine honked more aggressively, even spreading her wings and taking a few aggressive steps forward_

_“Is this it?” His father asked with eagerness on his face. “Is this the famous Golden Goose?”_

_“How do you know about her?” Dummy asked._

_“It’s how we found you.” His mother said. “Once we realized who was sending us those golden eggs, we just had to keep following the rumors of a boy accompanied by a golden goose that lays solid gold eggs. And now we found you, and we can be a family.”_

_“Why?” Dummy asked, trying so hard not to hope but finding himself unable to stop. “Why now?”_

_“You’re our boy.” His father said. “Our last boy.”_

_“We haven’t always been kind.” His mother said. “But we’re here now, and we want you home son.”_

_In spite of himself, Dummy dared to hope. Had they finally come to love him? Had they finally come to see himself as more than just a burden, more than just another mouth to feed?_

_Dummy stepped forward, but Sunshine circled protectively around him._

_“What’s gotten into you?” Dummy asked Sunshine._

_So much happened in span of a few seconds. His parents raced forward, and dragged a net over Sunshine. She honked indignantly, but she couldn’t get out._

_“I can’t believe it worked.” Dummy’s father said with a gleam in his eye._

_“That witch’s spell was worth every penny.” His mother said. “Now we just need to drag this thing home. We’ll have the debtors off our back.”_

_Dummy couldn’t abide by this. “Stop it! Let her go!”_

_He raced forward to free Sunshine, but his father pushed him to the ground._

_“What are you doing?” Dummy demanded, again trying to stop his parents, but this time his mother pushed him to the ground._

_“Securing our future.” His mother said simply._

_“You’re hurting her!” Dummy protested. This time, he brandished his knife, and pointed it towards his parents. “Let her go!”_

_“Look at this.” His mother scoffed, like she wasn’t even scared by the knife. “He thinks he’s a man.”_

_“He’s stupid, but not quite a man.” His father told her, equally unimpressed by Dummy’s action._

_“I’m warning you!” Dummy said._

_“Warning us?” Dummy’s father asked angrily. “We slave away for years to put food in your greedy mouth, put a roof over your fat head, and clothes on your stinking body, and this is the thanks we get? It was bad enough that we were saddled with your brothers, but you were the worst one of the lot.”_

_Tears came to Dummy’s eyes. He didn’t want them to hurt Sunshine, but he was afraid of actually hurting them._

_“Oh dear, he’s going to cry now.” His mother rolled his eyes before looking annoyed at Sunshine, who was still struggling. “Will this thing ever stop moving?” His mother than made the mistake of touching Sunshine in an attempt to keep her down, and became angry when her hand became attached. “What’s it doing?”_

_“You idiot, didn’t you listen?” His father asked. “You’re not supposed to touch it.”_

_“Get it off!” His mother demanded, pulling harder at it._

_In the fray, Sunshine managed to get loose from the net, and his mother now held on. To Dummy’s horror, his mother wrapped her hand around Sunshine’s neck._

_“NO!” Dummy screamed, and he raced forward with the knife._

_His father intercepted him, took the knife from his hands, and struck Dummy in the face so hard that when he hit the ground, stars danced before his eyes. He blearily heard the sounds of Sunshine fighting his mother, and despite his state, Dummy tried to get up. He had to protect her. He had to-_

CRACK!

_Time stood still, and as Dummy’s vision came back, he was met with the horrifying image of Sunshine lying lifeless on the ground. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, blocking out all other sounds save for his own heartbeat and heavy breathing. He saw that his parents were arguing, with his mother finally being released from Sunshine’s hold, but all Dummy cared about was that his friend….his friend…_

_“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Dummy screamed and sobbed so loudly and fiercely that his voice became raw soon afterwards._

_“You idiot!” His father screamed at his mother. “Now what’ll we do?”_

_“I’ll tell you what you can do, dearie.” A new voice, gleefully manic said, shocking everyone into silence. Or well, near silence, as Dummy was unable to contain much of his sobbing._

_Dummy turned to see who it was, and he found some sort of creature standing there in leather. It’s skin was scaly, like a reptiles, and yet strangely it almost seemed to have flecks of gold in it. His eyes were an unnatural gold as well, and Dummy wondered if he truly saw fangs in this creature’s teeth or not._

_“Who’re you?” Dummy’s father asked whilst brandishing the knife threateningly._

_The creature simply flicked his hand, and the knife sailed away into a nearby tree._

_“Such unpleasantness.” The creature giggled. “You come all this way to lure your son into a false sense of security, letting him believe you cared, only to murder an animal, and now you show_ me _disrespect.” The creature tutted. “Very poor manners indeed.”_

_“Are you a wizard?” Dummy’s mother asked warily._

_“Of a sort.” The creature replied, and Dummy wondered why that sounded so familiar. “You may, however, refer to me...as the Dark One.”_

_All three humans paled at the title. The Dark One was known far and wide as a powerful spellcaster, an immortal wizard who did as he pleased, and could turn your life into pig shit or king’s gold on a whim. The Dark One was not to be trifled with, and here he was before them._

_“Dark One.” Dummy’s father greeted, now properly scared. “I don’t know what business you have with us-”_

_“Ah, not with you.” The Dark One interrupted before pointing one of his scaly fingers at Dummy, who was nearly on the ground with tears and snot streaming down his face. “It’s with him.”_

_“With me?” Dummy asked, fearful for why the Dark One would want him._

_“Why yes.” The Dark One said, and with a flick of his fingers, Dummy was unnaturally forced to stand up. “You see, we had a deal. You held up your end of the bargain, and I’ve come to collect on my end.”_

_“I haven’t made a deal with you.” Dummy said. He would’ve remember making a deal with this creature._

_“But of course you did. See?” The Dark One magically rolled out a long sheet of paper, and there Dummy saw his name horribly scrawled at the bottom. Before Dummy could process what was in front of him, he sneered, “Can you imagine some greedy hearts learning of this treasure?”_

_Dummy swallowed a lump in his throat, realizing with horror that he had indeed met the Dark One before. “It’s you. You were the old man in the forest.”_

_“Yes, he can be taught!” The Dark One declared before reaching his hand out as if to stop something._

_Dummy turned around, and saw that his parents had tried to escape, but were now compelled to stay._

_“Unlike those two.” The Dark One said sourly. He then told Dummy, “Do you know what they did after they received the golden eggs you so graciously sent? They spent them to pay their debts, only to continuously end up in new ones. Then, they tried to find the source, and look what they’ve done.” The Dark One waved a hand in the direction of Sunshine’s body, but Dummy couldn’t bear to look._

_“Please Dark One.” Dummy’s mother pleaded. “If we had known that it belonged to you-”_

_“You would’ve what?” The Dark One asked with a light scowl. “You would’ve ignored the chance to continually pay your debts over and over again. You would’ve left well enough alone.”_

_“We had a child to feed.” His mother pleaded._

_“The last of three children you ignored.” The Dark One said. “Even after the first two boys came home with dire injuries, you just hoped for the best. Even when they both told you that they had been hurt by a golden tree, you simply called them mad and left them to fend for themselves, until they simply wasted away.” The Dark One gestured to Dummy. “You didn’t even look for this one until you realized that he had the Golden Goose.”_

_The Dark Ones words sunk into Dummy’s head, and a new horror emerged in his mind. “Wait...a golden tree?” He asked, looking into the Dark One’s terrible golden eyes as he hoped that he was wrong. “Stone and Forrest...you met them?”_

_“Only briefly.” The Dark One waved away. “I admit, I was surprised when you so readily offered me the little food you had. Your brothers had more food on them, but even an old, helpless beggar couldn’t get them to share.”_

_“Because they were starving!” Dummy protested fiercely._

_“So were you, boy.” The Dark One said more softly. For a moment, Dummy almost saw humanity there before it was snuffed out. The Dark One then added eccentrically, “Neither passed my test, and when they happened upon the golden tree, it rejected them, and they paid the price.”_

_Dummy began to weep. “My brother are dead…because of you?”_

_“They didn’t have futures beyond that point. I should know.” The Dark One said simply as he waved a hand over Sunshine’s body, and she disappeared in a puff of smoke._

_“No!” Dummy shouted. “Where is she?”_

_“My business. After all, our deal is concluded.” The Dark One said. “Congratulations. Most people can’t seem to keep up their end of the bargain.” The Dark One then forced Dummy’s parents to walk closer to them. “As for you two, I believe you’ve long overstayed your welcome among the living.” The Dark One then looked at Dummy. “Think about this moment. This is the moment you are freed of these stones around your neck.”_

_Dummy opened his mouth, “Wha-”_

CRACK!

CRACK!

_Two bodies slumped to the ground, and in a puff of smoke that snuffed out the light of the fire, the Dark One was gone, leaving Dummy alone in the forest with the bodies of his parents._

_Dummy stood there in shock, and soon he felt something warm and wet in his pants. It was only then that he realized that he wet himself. Almost as if someone else had taken control of his body, Dummy went and changed into a new pair of pants, and it was after he reattached his belt that Dummy began to weep again._

_This...this wasn’t happening. This couldn’t have happened. No. No no no no no no no!_

_Dummy was sobbing. His best friend, his only friend, dead. Killed by his parents, because Dummy was too stupid to not just leave them alone in their misery, because he was too much of a coward to defend her. His brothers were gone, and he was still here._

_Dummy fell to the ground on his knees. “I’m sorry.” He wept. “I’m so sorry, Sunshine.”_

_Perhaps the only thing in the world that ever loved him was gone, and it was all his fault. He was alone. He…_

_He heard the sound of music, which struck him as strange considering the dead silence that he only just now realized had preceded it. Dummy waited for it to go away, but it continued. In fact, it persisted, and began louder, soothing._

_Perhaps there were other people nearby. Dummy got up in a daze, walking towards the sound of the music as tears began to disappear from his face. The misery remained, and he suspected that it would never leave._

_He followed the sound of pipes playing, and Dummy wondered if he was imagining the revelry of boys as well._

* * *

Emma entered Declan's hospital room, her gut clenching at the sight of the weak boy on the bed. He was unhealthily pale, and due to the ill-fitting hospital gown, she was able to see that he was too skinny for a kid his age. He seemed barely able sit up, and when he tried he just fell back onto the pillows of his bed, kept only somewhat upright by the top of the hospital bed existing at a 40 degree angle.

Whale had kept his promise, and called them the minute Declan woke up. After witnessing the state of the shack Declan had been living in, the hospital ended up being a welcome change.

That shack brought back a lot of bad memories for Emma. Emma remembered the nights where she would have to settle for sleeping under a bridge if no other options were available.

Not to mention the feeling of being abandoned and unwanted that permeated her entire childhood, and leaked into her adulthood.

This kid’s parents lost two kids, but still left the last one they had to fend for himself. They could’ve left him with people, but they just threw him away like garbage.

Like Emma’s own parents had done to her.

“How are you feeling?” Emma asked Declan.

“Like shit.” The boy whispered weakly.

She waited for Graham to begin, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

Graham walked closer to Declan’s hospital bed, standing on one side while Emma stood on the other side. “Declan, do you know why you’re in the hospital?”

Declan replied, “One of the nurses said that I passed out at school. That I was dehydrated or something.”

Graham nodded. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Declan seemed to be thinking. “I was walking out of school, and...someone took my egg.” He then startled. “My egg. Where’s my egg?”

“It’s right here.” Emma said, reaching over to the bedside table and handing Declan his fake egg.

Declan took it from her and firmly held onto it

Emma knew what it was like to have a security blanket such as that one, as she used to hold onto her baby blanket that tightly when she was a girl.

Graham then said, “Declan, we know about the shack.” At Declan’s shocked looked, Graham continued, “We also know that you haven’t lived with your parents in some time.”

"So?" Declan was immediately on the defensive.

This time, Emma spoke. “So, you’ve been living in a shack that’s falling apart in winter. The little you’ve been eating is made up of junk food, which made you malnourished and dehydrated. You could’ve died.”

“Haven’t died yet.” Declan said without looking at them.

Emma sighed. This kid thought that he had to be tough and strong, because the world hadn't been kind to him.

“Do you have any idea where your parents might be?” Graham asked.

“Who cares where they are?” Declan snapped, though Emma didn’t miss the hint of misery on his face.

God, how many times had she felt the same way? Night after night, wishing her parents would come for her, and then in the next breath cursing them for ever having her. Even now, she still felt the old burning resentment.

Graham tried to break it to him gently. “Because you know that Storybrooke doesn’t have a foster care system. Not that we’d be inclined to give you back to them.” Declan looked at him in surprise, so Graham added, “We know about your brothers, and about your parent’s neglect.”

Declan focused on his egg. He then bitterly said, “Are you going to send me to Augusta?”

Emma said, “You’re not going to leave the hospital anytime soon, so not yet.”

Declan tried to look tough. “That’s good I guess. Henry’s probably freaking out about me crossing the town line, what with the ‘curse’ and all.”

Emma couldn't help but smile a little at that despite the situation, because Declan was right.

“Where are they by the way?” Declann asked, looking at Emma this time. “Henry and LJ I mean.”

“They’re being looked after.” Emma said, and upon seeing the disappointed look on Declan’s face, she quickly added, “They were here earlier, and LJ left the egg in your room.”

Declan seemed touched by that. “Sounds like him.” Declan said quietly. Declan then pursed his lips, and was unable to hide all of the vulnerability on his face.

Both Emma and Graham waited in silence, wanting to give Declan time to say what he needed to say.

Eventually, Declan finally did speak. “I...a few months ago, I wouldn’t have cared if you were going to take me to Augusta. I mean, I did fine on my own, but...I just wouldn’t have cared, and no one would’ve cared if I left. Now…” Declan couldn’t look at them, and it looked like he was trying not to cry. “You know, Henry and LJ are big softies. I’d actually kind of miss them, you know?”

Emma's heart went out to him. She knew that being separated from his friends, likely the only friends that he ever had, would only harm Declan. Emma also knew that it would not just break Declan's heart, but Henry and LJ's too. If anything happened to Declan too, then Henry would take it even harder and likely blame the curse and himself.

Emma could see Declan began to close himself off, but before they could question him further, Dr. Whale entered the room.

“Mr. Holtzer, how are you feeling?” He asked the boy.

“Pretty shitty.” Declan replied though he refused to look at anyone.

Dr. Whale then said, “Sheriff, deputy, I need to check on my patient. I’m going to need you to leave now.”

Seeing that there weren’t getting anywhere, Emma and Graham left the room. It was only when they got to their cars, and saw no one else nearby, that they spoke again.

“You know it’s only a matter of time before Regina hears about this, right?” Emma asked.

“If she hasn’t already.” Graham replied.

“What are we gonna do?” Emma asked. “Does this kid have any options?”

Graham said, “No living relatives means that he ends up in the foster care system. That is unless someone decides to take him in.”

As he said this, Emma noticed a look on Graham's face that seemed to be a mixture of concern and determination.

Emma, wondering if Graham already had someone in mind, asked, “Anyone you think could be up to it?”

“I’d have to check.” Graham said. “But there may be someone.”

“Who?” Emma asked.

Graham then opened the driver’s side door of his car. “When I have the answer, I’ll let you know. See you at the station.”

Without another word, Graham got in his car and drove off.

Emma followed soon after, and hoped for Declan’s sake that whoever Graham had in mind was up to the task.

* * *

Killian was walking around town when he saw Emma’s car pull into the station’s parking lot, so he hurried over to talk to her.

“Emma.” He called her name as he crossed the street.

“Killian, hi.” Emma said in surprise as she locked her car.

"Hey." Killian said. "I heard about Declan. How is he doing?”

“He’s...not doing so well.” Emma admitted. “He’s young, though, so he could bounce back.”

“That’s good.” Killian said. Truthfully, he’d been worried when he heard that a student had passed out at school, and had to be taken to the hospital. He had become even more worried when he heard that it was Declan. Killian felt guilty, as he knew that something was wrong, but he didn’t do enough sooner.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

Killian swallowed. "I knew something was wrong, but I...I didn't do anything. I didn't see the signs..."

“Hey.” Emma said gently. “Remember, you came to me the second you thought something was up. You tried to help, but none of us saw the signs.”

Killian saw the guilt that was on Emma’s face.

Killian couldn’t help but say, “You know, the things he’s done make a sad sort of sense now.” At Emma’s curious look, Killian explained, “His obstinance, his general lack of respect for authority, and how he always just seemed to separate himself from everyone. He was just...lashing out.”

Killian had done the same thing when he was younger. After his parents died, he’d lashed out against Liam. Not because of anything his brother did, but because Killian couldn’t comprehend that his parents were never coming back. It only got better over time as Killian matured and Liam stuck with him, but he started lashing out again when Liam died. Only this time he started drinking too.

Doing his best to drink bottle after bottle made more sense than focusing on his loneliness. He lost himself inside of his grief, not having friends or loved ones, pushing most people away. That had changed only recently, but even though he had people now, demons still haunted him and ate away at him.  
  
“Killian.” Emma’s voice drew him back to the world. “You want to share with the rest of the class?” Though she was joking, her tone was soft and soothing.

"I just...I understand his...situation all too well." Killian replied.

“Because of your parents?” Emma guessed before clarifying. “You mentioned them before, when we found Ava and Nick at that abandoned house.”

Killian nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Emma asked.

 _Not particularly, no,_ Killian thought, but instead he replied, “There are more pressing matters at hand. Have you found any living relatives?”

“Unfortunately no.” Emma told him. “His parents were real pieces of work, and there are no grandparents, aunts, or uncles. Graham said he had someone in mind, but he hasn’t told me who that is yet.”

"At least that's something." Killian said, feeling relieved. "Henry and LJ would be devastated to be separated from Declan, and I know that the system wouldn't treat the boy kindly."

“No it would not.” Emma agreed. After a few moments of silence, Emma said that she was going inside.

In spite of his previous words, watching Emma walk away filled Killian with the need to confess.

“Swan.” He called out.

Emma turned to face him.

Killian swallowed. He wasn't really one to trust others enough to confide in them. However, he knew Emma's story, at least some of it. If anyone could understand, it was her.

"I don't get cold." Killian finally told her. "I used to get cold all the time. Growing up, my brother and I never had enough blankets in the winter. The ones we did have were threadbare or had holes in them. Liam often tried to start a fire, but we never had enough to keep it lit. He’d even give me his own clothes to try to keep me warm. Eventually, I became so exposed to the cold that eventually I became used to it. I thought that if i just didn’t think about it, I could try to pretend that things weren’t as bad as they were.” Killian then pushed down the echoes of heartache that felt just as horrible as when they first started. “Then Liam died, and I was on my own.”

“Your brother died?” Emma asked, her eyes becoming pained for him. When Killian nodded, Emma stepped closer to him. “I-I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.” Killian said more quietly. “So I understand Declan’s predicament, at least some of it. It’s not easy being that young and being alone. Sometimes, if you tell yourself that things aren’t as bad as they are, you begin to believe it. You might even fool yourself into thinking that you’re beyond that point, but you aren’t. Just like-”

“Me.” Emma said, and Killian could tell that she hadn’t meant to say it, but was unable to stop herself.

Emma’s face flushed in embarrassment, and Killian also saw the wheels in Emma’s mind turn, likely in an attempt to figure out how to cover up the vulnerability she just showed him.

"Just like us." Killian agreed, without judgement or pity. He knew there was a connection between him and Emma, and he knew all too well that wounds made young tend to linger longer than most.

Emma seemed to be at war with herself, but Killian could see that just like him, there was a part of her that wanted to confess something.

“I’ve…” Emma started but cut herself off. After a few moments, she continued, “Part of me hasn’t forgiven my parents for abandoning me. Not that I think that they should be forgiven. They must have had options, but…” Emma seemed to be struggling with her words. “Declan claimed that he didn’t care about where his parents were, but I _know_ that’s not true. I know, because I would care. For some reason, I still do. I just hope that there’s still time for him to not become...like me.”

“There's nothing wrong with you." Killian told her sincerely. “Whoever told you that, or made you believe in that, there is nothing wrong with you, Emma."

Emma flushed in embarrassment at his words, but he could see in her eyes that she was grateful that he had said them. "I need to get back to work." She told him.

“Of course." Killian nodded, as he could tell that she was ready to close up again. "See you around, Swan." He began to walk away, but stopped when Emma called him. He turned back to her. "Yes?"

Emma gave him a gentle smile. "Thank you, Killian."

Killian smiled back at her. “Go on and save the day, Swan.” He lightly joked, though he had faith that she would be able to help the boy.

With that, Killian walked away.

* * *

_A tearful Dummy found the source of the music, and found a hooded boy playing pipes as other boys danced around a fire. His tears began to disappear as he found himself drawn to the fire. Without meaning to, he’d walked close enough for one of the boys to grab him and drag him into the circle._

_“What are you doing?” Dummy asked._

_“Dancing.” The boy who grabbed him said. “Join us.”_

_Dummy began to protest. “But-”_

_“Dance!” The boy urged, and just to get to get the boy to stop, Dummy began to dance._

_His head began to feel light, his body warmed not only by the fire, but as if the very feeling of being excited beyond care began to fill his entire body. His dancing was stiff, awkward, but despite the fact that his life had imploded not long ago, any thoughts of walking away began to vanish. He couldn’t stop, and slowly but surely he felt any desire to stop fade away. His movements became more fluid, he began to woot and holler, and he could almost forget-_

_Something hard hit against his hip, and Dummy was shocked into stopping, much to the annoyance of the boy who was directly behind him. Dummy moved away from the circle as the boy nearly pushed him into the fire to continue dancing._

_Dummy investigated the source of what hit him, and he realized that his special pouch was still attached to his belt. That in his previous daze to remove his soiled pants, he’d had the presence of mind to keep the special pouch attached. The pouch that held the last egg that Sunshine laid._

_Dummy pulled out the egg, held it in his hands, and began to weep again. He still didn’t know why, but this meant something to Sunshine. She wanted him to keep this with him. Did she know, somehow, that this would be the last night time they’d be together?_

_Out of the corner of his eye, Dummy saw the boys dancing away from the fire, and seemingly floating into the air and disappearing like magic._

_The boy who had been playing the flutes stopped, and said to him, “You can’t bring that with you.”_

_“Why not?” Dummy asked defensively._

_“You don’t need that in Neverland.” The boy said jovially, though Dummy detected something cold in his tone, something that told him to run away. Just like with the Dark One._

_Not caring about this Neverland, Dummy warily asked, “Are you the Dark One?”_

_“Of course not.” The boy said. “I’m far above him. Now come along. Leave it behind, and come to a world where you will never have to worry about anything again.”_

The Dark One made me promises too, and he’s ruined my life. _Dummy thought darkly. Dummy shook his head, and walked away._

_“Suit yourself.” The boy said. “Grow old and waste away here. Don’t say I never offered you anything.”_

_With that, the boy disappeared, and the last thing Dummy saw before he did so was his wide grin._

_The light of the fire was extinguished, and once again Dummy was left in the dark. Dummy squinted his eyes in the dark, holding onto the silver egg. For a brief moment, Dummy thought of all the times Sunshine would lay a golden egg, and that would provide for them long enough to prepare for the next stop on their journey._

_But Sunshine was gone. His parents had killed her. His brothers were dead, and the Dark One was responsible for all of it. All his life, he’d been left to his own devices, or become a means to someone else’s ends. Eventually, he would suffer for the plots and schemes of others. The only one who’d never done that was Sunshine, and this silver egg was special to her. He would not trade it, and he would never lose it._

_Dummy walked in the dark forest for most of the night, and when it was nearly down, he came upon a remote shack near a river. One of the windows was cracked, the wood panels on the outside were falling off, and the inside was small enough to only be comfortable for one person._

It’s perfect for me, _Dummy thought sadly as he entered his new home._ It’s ruined, and it’s all alone.

* * *

Graham sat in his office thinking about his apartment. It was big enough for one person, which up until now was perfect for him. However, if he could somehow restructure it, perhaps it could accommodate Graham and Declan.

The more he learned about Declan’s circumstances, the more Graham had been at war with what he could do for the boy. Graham doubted that the boy’s parents would contest his entering the foster care system, though if they had Graham would sooner rejoin Regina than let them have him. They didn’t deserve the boy after all they’d put him through.

Graham didn’t know Declan as well as he did Henry, but he understood what he was going through. Graham was lucky to have been found by his adopted family when his parents had left him to die. He hated to imagine what would’ve happened if they hadn’t found him, or if no one took up his case.

Emma was still trying to maintain contact with Henry, and so Graham didn’t know if she could take Declan in. Regina would take any opportunity she could to suggest that Emma didn’t have enough time or resources to be in Henry’s life. Mary Margaret had a good heart, but he had no idea if she would do it. Even if she did, Graham knew that Regina hated the schoolteacher enough to impede anything Mary Margaret might try to do

With him, he just didn’t know. He had busy hours, his apartment might not be deemed big enough to house Declan, and he’d never really had a lengthy experience with children outside of Henry.  

But he couldn't just let the kid fall into a system that failed children more often than not. Try as she might, Emma couldn’t totally hide just how much being constantly switched from foster home to foster home had hurt her. She barely talked about her time there, but the little she gleaned onto him, Graham knew how much the experience damaged her.

No offense to Declan, but he was already an angry and mouthy kid. There would be a number of foster homes that would mistreat or trade him in the minute things became inconvenient. Plus, prospective adopted parents would likely look for babies or toddlers instead of a 12-year-old boy from a bad home.

Could he do this? Could he really take in a boy and make it work? Aside from wanting to protect him from a potentially hard future, and to keep him with his friends, Graham wanted to give Declan the protection and sense of family the Humberts had given him. He was a little worried about how he’d handle Declan’, as even Graham had been older than Declan was now when he starting swearing, and certainly not with that frequency. His attitude also worried him, and he hoped that he could be patient with the boy. He didn’t want to remind the boy of his parents’ near constant fights, nor did he want to be a pushover.

All the same, Graham felt a little more inclined to at least give it a try. This may be Declan’s last chance.

Graham picked up his phone and dialed a number. After some more hesitation, really thinking over his decision, Graham went ahead with the call.

After a few rings, the person on the other end of the line began to speak in a somewhat haggard voice. “Raymond Fitzroy, LLC. How can I help you?”

“Ray, it’s Graham.” He said, feeling nervous about his decision, but determined to stay the course.

“Hi Graham.” Ray replied. “Do you need something?”

“Yes.” Graham said. He swallowed a lump in his throat before saying, “I wanted to know if you could do something for me.”

“What do you need?” Ray asked.

Graham saw that Emma overheard the conversation on Graham’s end, and looked at him curiously.

Unable to break eye contact with Emma, Graham told Ray, “I need to know if you can start up, and hopefully expedite, the process of me becoming a foster parent.”

As Ray told him about his options, realization dawned on Emma’s face before it softened and Emma gave him a proud smile.

Despite his worries, Graham smiled back, more sure of the idea that he was doing the right thing.

“Who are you thinking about taking in?” Ray asked, his tone suggested he had a pretty good guess.

Graham firmly responded, “I want to foster Declan Holtzer.”

* * *

Henry had been sent back home after Ray picked up LJ. Thankfully, his mom didn’t seem to know about Declan’s predicament. It would only be a matter of time before she eventually heard about it, and once she did, she would use her powers as mayor to send him away as soon as possible. Henry didn’t think that Declan defied her in the Enchanted Forest, like Ava and Nick (well, Gretel and Hansel) did. Still, he wouldn’t put it past her to give it a try.

So, he waited until his mom was consumed with work in her home office to leave the house. Henry headed straight to the hospital. Once he was there, he headed straight for Declan’s hospital room, with his storybook in hand.

After everything he’d learned, Henry thought he knew who Declan was. It took some time, but the information he’d learned today had narrowed down the field. The story was titled “The Golden Goose,” and the similarities were too many to be coincidental.

A boy - named Dummy in the story - had two older brothers who died, and parents that relentlessly abused him. He gains possession of a silver egg, though only after the Golden Goose, his only friend, was tragically murdered by the boy’s parents (who were killed by the Dark One, which probably explains why Declan’s parents weren’t around). And, to top it off, Dummy ends up living in a shack that looks exactly like Declan’s shack by the end of the story.

Henry's blood pumped with excitement at figuring out yet another fairytale character's identity. Even better, it was Declan’s real identity. All he needed to do was figure out who LJ was and he’d solved the mystery of identities amongst his group of friends.

The only thing that dampened his spirits was that this didn’t help Declan. Still, he was sure that Emma would figure something out. She always did.

Henry arrived at the door of Declan’s hospital room, which was slightly ajar. After seeing that Declan was awake and still holding on that egg, the Golden Goose’s last egg, Henry knocked on the door. “Can I come in?” Henry asked.

Declan actually smiled a genuine smile. “Yeah, sure.” He said as he waved Henry to come forward. “Come in.”

Henry did so, and then closed the door behind him to give them more privacy. Then he went over to stand at Declan’s bedside.

“What’s up?” Declan asked, looking a little less weak than he did before, but clearly not back to normal.  

Henry hesitated. Declan had been through a lot, and he was more skeptical about the curse than LJ. What if he reacted badly to what Henry had to tell him?

Henry decided to try to lead up to it. “I wanted to know how you were doing.” Henry said.

“A lot of people have been asking me that.” Declan muttered before saying, “A little better I guess. Earlier I was at ‘Like shit’, and now I’m at ‘A little less like shit’.”

Henry shook his head with a chagrined smile at Declan’s cursing, because it at least seemed like he was feeling better.

That’s when Declan took notice of the storybook in Henry’s arms. “You figure out who someone is?” Declan guessed. At least he didn’t seem put off by the idea.

 _Here goes nothing_ , Henry thought. He then said, “Yep. I figured out who you really are.”

“Oh?” Declan asked. “Who am I?”

"Dummy." Henry answered.

Declan blinked owlishly at him. "Gee, thanks."

“No, that’s your real name.” Henry said. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Henry hastily added, “Your parents weren’t nice.”

“No offense, but no shit dude.” Declan deadpanned.

Henry sighed and opened up the storybook to Declan’s story, placing it on the other boy’s lap for him to see better. “See, this is Dummy’s story.”

“Why’s it called the Golden Goose then?” Declan questioned, though he was at least looking at the story.

“Because that was your best friend.” Henry said before turning a few pages to show an illustration of Dummy successfully uprooting the golden tree, which freed the Golden Goose. “You and the Golden Goose were friends. You named her Sunshine. You and Sunshine would use every golden egg she would lay to pay for stuff, and you traveled for months. One night,” Henry turned a few pages to show an illustration of Sunshine and Dummy looking at the silver egg, “Sunshine laid a silver egg, and made sure you knew that it was important.”

“It looks like…” Declan trailed off before looking at the egg in his lap. Granted the egg in Declan’s lap looked less refined than the illustration, but Declan clearly saw a similarity between them, even if it wasn’t prompting any memories. He then shook his head and said, “Mine looks like shit.”

Henry shrugged. "The artist took some artistic license?" Or the curse made the egg look bad. To each their own.  

“Clearly.” Declan chuckled. He then turned a few pages before coming upon a part of the story Henry wasn’t excited to get it, and Declan’s smile vanished.

It was an illustration that was mostly comprised of dark shadows, but the fire in the illustration showed enough. It was an image of Dummy’s parents trapping the Golden Goose in a net, with Dummy trying to stop them. This was the image of the attack before the Golden Goose’s murder.

Declan read a few lines, and muttered, “Shit.”

Henry knew that something, even if it was impossibly minute, of the real Dummy came forward, because in the span of a second, there was grief in Declan’s eyes before it went away. For a brief second, Dummy remembered something before the curse forced Declan to forget it.

“Mhmm.” Henry nodded somberly. “You kept sending your parents a golden egg, because you were too good a person to just let them lose your house and starve. They got greedy, and they tracked you two down. They tried to steal Sunshine for themselves, but they killed it. Then the Dark One came along, and he killed them.”

“Fuck.” Declan swore. “So my parents were always evil.”

“You remember?” Henry said hopefully.

“No.” Declan scoffed, crushing that hope in a second. “It just makes sense. Even in a fairy tale, I don’t deserve good parents.”

“Yes you do.” Henry protested. “You deserve to have people love you.”

“What makes you so sure?” Declan challenged as he looked at Henry, but Henry saw that a part of Declan wanted for Henry to prove him wrong.

So, Henry obliged him. “Because even though you don’t believe in the curse, even though you think I’m crazy, you’re still my friend. You still care about me, and play with me, and even try to help me break a curse you don’t believe in. You’re one of my best friends.”

Declan’s challenging melted away, and now he was the one who had a hopeful look. “Best friend?” He asked softly.

Henry nodded before amending, “Well, one of my best friends. I’m pretty sure LJ would get jealous.”

Declan laughed. “Yeah, he’d get super jealous.” Declan then bit his lip. "Thanks, Henry."

“No problem.” Henry said before shuffling awkwardly. “Um...what do you want to do now?” Henry hadn’t planned this far into the future.

Declan sighed goodnaturedly. “I don’t think I’m gonna get out of this hospital bed soon.” He then tiredly shuffled over until there was more room on Henry’s side of the hospital bed. “Hop on.”

“You sure?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, come on.” Declan said as he settled back onto the bed. “Read me a story.”

Henry felt a little excited at the prospect that Declan wanted him to do this, and so after he took off his shoes, he got onto the bed. “What do you want me to read?” Henry asked. “Your story?”

“Fuck no.” Declan scoffed. “Something with a happy ending. There’s got to be at least one of those in there, right?”

“Yeah.” Henry said. He initially thought about correcting Declan about how Storybrooke only existed to ruin those happy endings, but that was an argument for another time. Henry then looked through the storybook, and found his favorite story. “How about when Snow White and Prince Charming first met?”

“Sure.” Declan said. “That’s your favorite one, right?”

Henry was a little surprised that Declan knew this. “How’d you know that?”

“Dude, you’re kind of obsessed with it.” Declan teased with a smile. “Pretty sure that having them as your ‘grandparents’ hasn’t help.”

“Ha ha.” Henry fake laughed before turning to the correct page. He then settled back into the bed and began to read from the book. “ _As the Prince chased the thief on horseback, through the treacherous forest, his betrothed crossed her arms and pouted, wondering how many dreadful, boring minutes it would take until they could resume their journey again. The thief vaulted over a fallen tree, and went to claim what would soon be her stolen prize._ ”

Eventually, Henry finished the story, but at Declan’s prompting, Henry continued reading different stories until Declan fell asleep.

“Happy birthday Declan.” Henry said to his sleeping friend. In spite of himself, Henry followed Declan into dreamland soon after.

Later, a nurse would discover the two boys laying there side by side, sleeping peacefully as the cares of the waking world were far from their minds.

* * *

_December 13, 2011_

Graham knocked on the doorframe to Declan's hospital room. He felt incredibly nervous, but after a pep talk from Emma, which mainly consisted of her saying that he and Ray put a lot of work into expediting this process and that he might as well go through with it, he felt slightly less nervous. Graham suspected that she hoped that he would house Declan because of her own past pain, but Graham also knew that if Emma didn’t think he could do it, she would’ve told him.

Besides, after everything that Ray went through to get a process such as this done in _four days_ , Graham was a little worried about his reaction if all his hard work went to waste. That man could be intense when he wanted to be.

Inside, Declan was walking around his bed. Instead of a hospital down, he was now wearing some sweatpants and a loose shirt that more or less fit him. He was shuffling around, probably trying to regain his strength, wearing nothing but socks on his feet, his precious egg on the hospital bed.

At the sound of the knock, Declan turned to face him. “Hey Sheriff.” He greeted.

 _It’s now or never,_ Graham thought before he asked, “You mind if I come in?”

Declan shrugged. “Sure.”

Graham sat on the chair near Declan's bed, but couldn't figure out how to sit comfortably. He suspected that wasn’t solely the hospital’s fault, though the hospital didn’t exactly invest a lot of money in comfortable seating.

Declan shuffled closer to stand near Graham, though with enough distance that he was just out of arm’s reach. “What’s up?” Declan asked.

 _How do I even broach this subject?_ , Graham asked himself.

When Graham was silent for too long, Declan snarked, “You gonna arrest me?”

“No.” Graham chuckled nervously before suppressing it. He might as well go for it. “No, uh...so, Declan, you know that unless someone decides to take you in, we’re gonna have to take you to Augusta, yes?”

“It's crossed my mind.” Declan said in a deadpan tone, but that didn’t completely hide the fear that radiated from Declan’s body.

“Well, I think I found a solution.” Graham said before taking in a calming breath. _Here it goes._ “How would you feel about living with me?”

Declan's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, I think I'm going crazy, what did you just say?"

Graham couldn’t help but smile at that. “I asked you how you would feel about living with me, as my foster son?”

Declan’s lip wobbled for a second before he tried to steel himself. “You’re joking, right? This is a joke.”

Graham shook his head. “No, Declan, this is not a joke. Ray helped speed up the process so I could legally take you in.”

The boy still couldn't believe it, and for once truly seemed to be at a loss for words.

Graham said, “I know it’s sudden, and I know you’ve been through a lot, but I think we can work things out. You can stay here in Storybrooke with your friends. Now, I do want to be clear that there are going to be rules, and I will expect you to follow them, but I’m ready to do my best to give you a home.”

"Why?" Declan asked. "Why would you want me?"

“Because I understand you.” Graham said. When he caught Declan’s disbelieving look, Graham continued, “My parents abandoned me not long after I was born.”

This made Declan’s suspicious look disappear.

Seeing that he had an opening, Graham went for it. “They didn’t give me over to relatives, or even to a random home. They abandoned me in the middle of the woods, likely expecting me to die of exposure. Luckily, I was found by a good family, and they raised me as their own. I never met my birth parents, and personally, I don’t care to.” Graham took a calming breath. “They didn’t deserve to be parents, and what they did was inexcusable, except…”

“Except?” Declan prompted.

Graham answered, “If I _did_ want to see my birth parents, it would only be so that I could ask them, after some yelling probably...why. I would want to know _why_ they left me in such a cruel way, or why they couldn’t just give me to someone else.”

Declan looked somewhat unnerved by the story, but at the same time he seemed to understand that Graham knew what he went through.

“What your parents did to you was inexcusable, and it was not your fault.” Graham told him firmly. “The Humberts, my _real_ family, they helped me, and now I want to help you.”

Declan swallowed and tried to be subtle about swiping at his eyes.

Graham then gently said, “If you say yes, I promise I will do everything I possibly can to make this work. The choice is yours.”

Declan looked at him with some amount of worry, and Graham knew it would be awhile before Declan could be entirely comfortable with this idea. With that said, Declan eventually said, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Graham asked, feeling a burden lift from his shoulders.

“Yeah.” Declan said. “I’ll be your foster kid.”

Declan still looked uncertain, but Graham was relieved that Declan was at least willing to give this a try.

“Great.” Graham said. “We’ll have to file some paperwork, but hopefully everything should work out.”

“Let’s hope so.” Declan said, and from the tone of his voice, part of him hoped it would, while another part prepared for potential heartache.  

Graham had made a promise though. He said that he’d do everything he could to make this work, and that was a promise he intended to keep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I feel bad about what I put Declan through, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop >:)  
> But yay he gets to stay with Graham. 
> 
> Poor Ray. Will he ever get that drink he’s been promised? lol :P
> 
> Let me know what you thought in the review below. Expect an update same time next week!
> 
> See you same time next week!


	15. Most Magical Time of the Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas time is heeeereeee! (In-story that is)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a comment or kudos last chapter. Yes, Declan has a tragic backstory, but things should be looking up...yeah they should...
> 
> Anyways, time for disclaimers. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything canon belongs to Adam, Eddy, and ABC (and Disney).
> 
> Another disclaimer: Again, I am NOT a medical professional, so some of the scenes concerning Declan are guesswork from what I was able to discern from Google search results. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_December 24, 2011_

Emma thought that Halloween-Mary Margaret was eccentric. Christmas-Mary Margaret was so, _so_ much worse.

“Your first Christmas in Storybrooke.” Mary Margaret said wistily as she added some last minute touches to the decorations that adorned practically every itch of the loft. Just to add to the Christmas atmosphere, Mary Margaret had been playing Christmas music nonstop.

Emma was this close to smashing the stereo with a baseball bat.

“Oh yeah.” Emma said. “I’m definitely feeling the Christmas cheer.”

Judging by the look Mary Margaret gave her, Emma wasn’t exactly convincing (not that she tried to be).

It wasn't like Emma was used to this. Her Christmases always sucked, at least whenever she was in a house for Christmas. One Christmas, when she was about eleven or twelve, she stayed out in the cold at a playground after running away from her last foster home. Even when she was with a foster family, she never felt like she belonged. The gifts she got, if she got them at all, were cheap and usually didn’t last long. It was infinitely worse if the foster family she was with had kids of their own, and Emma would have to watch those kids gleefully unwrap nice gifts that may or may not have been paid for by the check the family got for housing Emma.

All in all, Christmases didn’t hold much excitement for her.

 _That’s what you thought about Thanksgiving,_ a voice in her head said. _Thanksgivings weren’t good before, but this one was. Maybe Christmases could be the same._  

Emma would be cautiously optimistic. She’d definitely have to be if she saw Killian again.

It had been a while since their almost kiss in the loft, and she hated to admit it, but she had been kind of avoiding him. Well, not him necessarily. More like talking about how she had really _, really_ wanted to kiss him but chickened out at the last second.

“Something on your mind?” Mary Margaret asked.

“What? No.” Emma lied, and from the look on Mary Margaret’s face, she had lied badly. She also knew that Mary Margaret had immediately become suspicious. After a few moments of hesitation, Emma sighed and said, “Um, remember the storm awhile ago?”

Emma didn’t miss the blush on Mary Margaret’s cheeks, and although curious as to why, she didn’t comment on it as Mary Margaret nodded.

Emma took a breath before telling her roommate, “Well...Killian came by with some food and games, and after the power went out and Henry and Declan started playing cards, we took care of some things and...we almost kissed.”

Immediately, Mary Margaret’s face lit up. “Emma that’s gre- Wait, you said ‘almost kissed’. What happened?”

Emma shrugged awkwardly. “I...kind of pulled back at the last second.”

Mary Margaret looked confused, and asked, “Was it because you weren’t comfortable?”

“That’s part of it.” Emma said before hurriedly adding, “Not with him. It’s just...I haven’t really had feelings for anyone in a long time, so...I don’t really know how I should feel about this?”

Mary Margaret nodded with a sympathetic face. “Maybe you should give it time? I mean, as long as you’re comfortable with that. After all, maybe that wasn’t the right moment for you two, but maybe the circumstances will be better sooner than you think.”

 _Hopefully_ , Emma thought before she actually said, “Maybe. I just hope he likes the gift I got him.”

“You got him a gift?” Mary Margaret asked with a hopeful look. “What is it?”

Emma smirked. “That’s kind of the things with present. You don’t know what it is until you open it.”

“But it’s not _my_ gift.” Mary Margaret said, and then sighed in mock disappointment when Emma wouldn’t give it up. “Oh, alright. By the way, are you sure you don’t have any Christmas traditions you want to share?"

Emma shook her head. “Not really, no.”

Mary Margaret paused before cheerily saying, “Well, we can come up with some new ones.”

As Mary Margaret began to brainstorm ideas, Emma noticed how oddly stiff Mary Margaret was. And the way she kept talking seemed a little forced, especially the parts where Emma could only shrug as she didn’t know what to do. Not the Christmas cheer, that was _all_ Mary Margaret. No, it was like she was trying to keep any and all conversation going, and Emma had a good idea on why that was.

“Mary Margaret.” Emma said.

“Yes?” Mary Margaret asked.

“You still worried about what people are gonna say about you and David?” Emma asked.

Judging by the look on Mary Margaret’s face, Emma’s guess was correct.

“There’s nothing between me and David.” Mary Margaret said.

“Like you said.” Emma replied with a nod. “Still, I get the feeling that you’re not going to Granny’s anytime soon.”

In the chaos of the investigation into Declan’s past, Emma had completely missed the rumor that David Nolan left his wife for the second time. She didn’t even hear about it until she went into Granny’s one day, and Ruby told her that not only were the rumors true, but that David had apparently gone to Ray to get the divorce papers in line. David was even staying at Granny’s until he could find his own place to live.

Because of that, Mary Margaret avoided Granny’s Diner & Inn like the plague.

Emma guessed that she wasn’t willing to go round two against the rumor mill just yet.

Still, it was interesting that David ended up leaving his wife after all.

Emma was wondering what prompted this change when she spotted a guilty look on Mary Margaret’s face. “Mary Margaret.” Emma said. “Something you want to talk about?”

“Why would you think that?” Mary Margaret asked in a not-at-all suspicious way.

Emma just sent her a look to let her roommate know that she wasn’t buying it.

Mary Margaret bit her lip, seemingly at war with herself.

Emma found herself saying, “You know you can tell me if something’s wrong, right?”

This seemed to tip the scale, and after a few moments, Mary Margaret blurted out, “It’s my fault David’s divorcing Kathryn.”

 _Okay, not exactly what I thought was gonna happen,_ Emma thought. She then asked, “What do you mean?”

That was when Mary Margaret began to explain where she’d been during the storm. She’d only told Emma the partial truth when she got home - that her car got stuck in the road by the woods and she’d had to find shelter. What Mary Margaret failed to mention was that not only did she nearly _die_ trying to reunite a dove with its flock, but that David had saved her. What’s more, the two of them (plus the dove) found shelter in a random cabin. There, Mary Margaret confessed she still had feelings for David, which is why she stayed away, but learned that David didn’t actually love Kathryn the way he claimed to love Mary Margaret.   

“I told him that we couldn’t risk it.” Mary Margaret said in a hurry as she paced around, occasionally looking at Emma, who found herself seated on the couch. “I told him that he chose Kathryn, and that whatever feelings we had would be a risk, because he was already married, and I don’t hate or even dislike Kathryn, so I couldn’t do it. I didn’t actually think he was going to leave his wife.”

"Mary Margaret, this is huge." Emma said. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She couldn't help but feel a little hurt that the woman, who she'd come to consider a close friend, hadn't trusted her with the truth. Okay, she hadn’t exactly been honest about the kiss thing, but at least Killian wasn’t married.

“Because I thought maybe, _maybe_ , it was just a fluke.” Mary Margaret explained. “I thought that maybe David left Kathryn because he didn’t love her, not because of anything I said. Besides, you were already so busy with what happened to Declan and…” Mary Margaret stopped to stand in front of Emma, her hands falling to her sides with a sigh. “I just don’t know. I thought that maybe we could get through this without me making a bigger mess of things.”

Emma could understand that, especially after the nasty rumors that had circulated around Mary Margaret for weeks. And that was when they _hadn’t_ done anything.

Mary Margaret then sat next to Emma on the couch.

“What’re you going to do?” Emma asked her.

“I don’t know.” Mary Margaret replied. “Eventually, I’m probably going to have to talk to David, just not right now. I just want to enjoy the holidays and focus on that.”

Emma thought about the last time she gave Mary Margaret advice when it came to David, and she was determined to fix her mistake.

“If you do decide to do something, it's probably better to wait." Emma told her. "I know last time I told you to go after him, and it hurt you. Then the rumors happened, so if you really feel something for David, if you _really_ want to be with him, wait until the divorce is official. Even then, I think you should let the rumor mill over their split die down. We don't need anymore false accusations." Her attempt at humor only got a small, sad smile from her roommate.

“You’re right.” Mary Margaret said more assuredly. “Thank you Emma.”

Emma shrugged. “No problem.” And, because she really wanted Mary Margaret to smile again, she bravely asked, “So...need any help with decorations.”

Mary Margaret saw through this attempt and laughed a little. “I think I’ve got everything covered.” She replied. “By the way, how are you going to spend Christmas with Henry?”

“I may have something in mind.” Emma said mysteriously.

“Ooh, what is it?” Mary Margaret asked eagerly.

“It’s a surprise.” Emma teased as she got off the couch.

“Oh come on, tell me, please.” Mary Margaret pleaded, though it was only half-serious if the smile on her face was anything to go by.

Emma still didn’t reveal her secret. She wanted to make sure that it would be a surprise for Henry, and she worried about Mary Margaret’s inability to lie. Besides, the surprise Emma had in mind would just be between herself and Henry. She just hoped he would like it.   

* * *

“Merry Christmas.” Dada said as she handed Killian a wrapped gift.

Killian was touched. “Thank you.” He said as he accepted the gift before Killian gave her a gift from him.

“Aw, thanks.” Dada said as she accepted the gift from Killian. “You didn’t have to get me anything though.”

"Are you kidding?" Killian teased. "You're the best employee I have."

Dada gave him a dry look. "I'm the only employee that you have."

“And that makes you the best.” Killian joked. He then asked, “So, have you thought about coming over to Mary Margaret and Emma’s loft for Christmas.”

“I think I will.” Dada replied. “I just have to do something first.”

“Like spend Christmas with your mystery man?” Killian guessed.

Dada rolled her eyes a little, but she couldn’t hide the blush that came over her cheeks. “We’re just having a dinner together. And I already told you my guy is kind of a recluse. He’s not exactly good with crowds."

Killian understood, but he still couldn’t help but pick up on something. “Oh, so he’s ‘your guy’, is that it?” He asked with a smirk.

Dada stammered, “Well, no, not in that sense. He’s just a guy that I know, and stuff, and...you’re terrible. It’s not like that.”

"Uh huh, sure." Killian said.

Dada narrowed her eyes at Killian. “Keep it up boss, or else we might have to start talking about you and Emma.”

"Oh, I'm so worried." Killian chuckled. "A strange man gossiping with you about my lack of a love life."

“We both know that it’s not as lacking as you claim.” Dada replied. “Besides, maybe you and Emma will just _happen_ to end up under some mistletoe or something.”

Killian blushed at both the suggestion and the fact that a kiss nearly _did_ happen, sans a mistletoe of course.

Something must’ve shown on his face, because Dada’s draw dropped in amazement. “Wait...did you two-”

“Not quite.” Killian told her quickly.

“But _something_ happened.” Dada said with an amused and excited glint in her eyes. “Okay, when and how?”

“No need to sound that excited.” Killian told her. He paused before admitting, “It was during the storm. I went over to her and Mary Margaret’s loft with some things to help them out. Mary Margaret wasn’t there, but Henry and Declan were, so we all waited out the storm. The power went out, and...well something _almost_ happened, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Was she not interested?” Dada asked uncertainly.

Killian thought it over before saying, “I thought she was, but...perhaps not as much I hoped.”

Dada gave him a sympathetic look. “If it’s any consolation, I do think she’s interested in you. Just...give it time. Maybe things’ll look up.”

“Maybe.” Killian said with a noncommittal nod of his head.

Dada was just beginning says something when they heard people coming into the library.

Soon enough, a familiar face appeared in front of them.

“Merry Christmas!” Little Mai shouted before another voice told her to use her indoor voice.

That belonged to a nun, who was walking alongside Phoebe. The teenage girl was holding onto a gift.

“Merry Christmas.” Mai whispered to Killian before looking at Dada, and saying the same thing.

“It’s not Christmas yet.” Phoebe told her.

"Merry early Christmas." Mai corrected.

Phoebe then stepped towards Killian. “Here.” She said, presenting him the small box in her hands. “We wanted to give you a present.”

“Me? A present?” Killian asked as he accepted it. “Why?”

“You’re nice.” Mai answered simply.  

Killian was stunned.

“What she said.” Phoebe said before looking a little self-conscious. “You were nice to her, _us_ , so we figured why not get you a gift. You don’t mind, right?”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Killian assured her. “Thank you.”

Phoebe seemed to sigh in relief. “Great. Good.”

"I'm sorry that I don't have a gift for the both of you." Killian apologized.

“It’s fine.” Phoebe said as Mai concurred with her. “We kind of sprung this on you.”

“You can get us something for our birthday.” Mai suggested helpfully before Phoebe shushed her.

Then the nun stepped forward. “Girls, I think it’s time we go.” She then looked at Killian before mouthing a silent ‘Sorry’ before casting a glance at the girls.

The girls then said their goodbyes and left with the nun.

The minute they were gone, Dada said, “So, I see you’re getting new admirers.”

“I haven’t the faintest clue why.” Killian said.

"They're cute kids." Dada said. “Where did you meet them?”

“The convent.” Killian answered. At Dada’s questioning look, Killian explained that he and Emma had gone there when everyone was looking for the Zimmer twins.

“Ah.” Dada said. “So now you’re charming nuns and their wards?”

Killian's ears tinted pink.

Dada had a laugh at his expense.

Killian tried to scowl at her, but couldn’t completely manage it. He’d get her for this, somehow.

* * *

Dr. Whale told Graham that it would take Declan approximately two months before he would regain the weight he’d lost. Declan was, in a sense, quite lucky, as neither the dehydration or malnutrition caused any permanent damage to his internal organs. Unfortunately, while he was still regaining his strength every day, he was still fairly weak, and it would be a difficult road to get him back into shape, one that Graham would have to carefully cultivate with good food, exercise, and a place to sleep.

Declan saw another aspect of this news.

“So, does this mean I don’t have to go to school?” He asked as he tried walking around his hospital room.

Graham chuckled. “We’ll see how you progress after the new year. Even if you can’t, your teachers have already agreed to send you notes and homework.”

Declan huffed. “Great.”

 _Was this what it was like to have a child?,_ Graham thought.

“It’s not all bad.” Graham said. “We at least have that Christmas party at Mary Margaret’s to look forward to.”

Declan did smile at that. “That’s true. I just hope Henry gets there somehow.”

That was code for, _I hope Henry gets to sneak out of the house when Regina isn’t looking._

It went without saying, but both of them knew Regina was unlikely to voluntarily allow Henry to spend Christmas with Emma. He’d likely be with her at the formal Christmas party she threw every year.

Graham worried about when news of his impending parenthood reached Regina's ears. He’d done his very best to not talk about it the few times he and Regina had to meet for official business - _actual_ business, not...that - and avoided anything that might lead to conversations about parenthood. He’d quietly started work renovating his apartment to fit two people, and had done much of the work after his night shifts when his neighbors were asleep. Graham was still worried that somehow Regina knew about him and Nancy, given how horribly she’d been treating the woman, and the fact that she hadn’t done anything to him yet only scared him more. He didn’t think it was because she cared about him, not at all, or that she had given up. If anything, he feared that she was just winding up to really hurt him, and he didn’t know when it was coming, or what it would be. He just hoped that he could hold out long enough so that when Regina did learn about it, it’d hopefully be too late for her to do anything.

Though at the same time, he wished that she would hurry up and retaliate. He already felt like he had to look over his shoulder all the damn time.

Seeing that Declan was staring at him, Graham tried put those thoughts away. “All things considered, I’m still getting my place ready, but it should be done by the time you’re ready to leave the hospital for good.”

"Cool." Declan was trying to be nonchalant about the whole situation.

“It’s going to be fine.” Graham tried to assure him.

Declan didn’t look so reassured. Instead he asked, “Are my presents still okay?”

Graham nodded, thinking about the hospital gift shop items that he’d bought on Declan’s behalf. “Yes. They’re safe and hidden at my place.”

Declan smiled. “That’s good. I couldn’t hide them here, or else Henry, LJ, Ava, or Nick might’ve noticed.”

“How have their visits being going?” Graham asked.

“Pretty good.” Declan replied. “At first they came here right after school, but then Henry started to suck at math again so I told them to just go to the library first.”

“You’re being awfully responsible.” Graham teased.

“It’s weird, right?” Declan joked. “I just hope everyone likes their presents.”

“I’m sure they will.” Graham told him.

Really though, Graham thought that it was sweet that Declan was so concerned. Declan had been so disappointed when he realized that without any money of his own, he couldn’t buy Christmas gifts for any of his friends. Graham had offered, but Declan at first said no, and Graham got the feeling that he was worried about overstepping his boundaries. Eventually, Declan gave in, and accompanied Graham to the hospital gift shop, where he carefully picked out the gifts for each of his friends, trying to balance out things they might like while also trying to choose the least expensive gifts possible.

The boy's snarky facade was easy to see through once you got to know him.

Declan then asked, “Hey, can we visit my brothers sometime?”

“Your brothers?” Graham asked before it dawned on him. Declan wanted to visit their graves.

“Yeah.” Declan nodded. “I haven’t been able to visit them in a while, since I got all sick, so can you take me to the cemetery?”

Graham didn’t have the heart to say no. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Hopefully the doctors would deem Declan fit to leave by tomorrow. Graham hadn’t ever thought that he’d be plan to visit a cemetery on Christmas Day. He’d also never planned to foster a child, but things just happened he supposed.

* * *

It had been exactly one month since Fernando had been poisoned, and Nancy was doing everything in her power to prevent that from happening again. The investigation Graham and Emma had done concluded that Fernando hadn’t been poisoned by anything in her or Alan’s homes, which brought her some small relief. However, Fernando couldn’t remember what he had eaten, so that still left left what had nearly killed her baby a mystery.

She had hired Marco to add a lock to one of the closets, and literally locked up everything that could even remotely be hazardous to Fernando. She even wore the key around her neck so to make sure Fernando couldn’t find it lying around, even if he was too short to reach the lock and handle. Still, Nancy would obsessively check if the closet door was still locked, still keeping everything away from him. She only ever took those out when Fernando was sound asleep, and she would scrub the floors and clean their home to make sure nothing was left. As for whenever they went outside, Nancy wouldn’t let him accept any food that she hadn’t made or checked, which made going out a nightmare.

Nancy wasn’t going to take the chance of this happening again.

Between this and the increased demands of Regina to make her house spotless for her Christmas party, her knees were in almost constant pain. It would be just as bad when she cleaned up the mess from today’s Christmas _Eve_ party in preparation for the Christmas _Day_ dinner that would follow. If this kept Fernando safe though, it would be worth it.

Alan had other ideas.

“I’m worried about you Nancy.” He said as he helped her clean the kitchen

“What about?” Nancy asked.

“I…” Alan hesitated. “I think you should quit.”

This surprised her. “Quit?”

"Yes, quit." Alan said. "Regina is making your life hell, and after what happened with Fernando..."

“That’s why I have to stay.” Nancy told him. “It’s hard enough paying for his medical bills as it is. Without that pay, it’ll be even worse.”

“It’s only this bad because she docked your pay.” Alan argued. “She knew what was going on, and she still did it. Ever since, she’s been making you work longer, harder, and with less pay than when you started. That woman is heartless.”

“That woman is also the mayor.” Nancy said. “If I suddenly quit, you think she’s not going to try to blacklist me?”

“She is running you ragged.” He replied.

“I can handle it.” Nancy told him.

“For how long?” He asked. “How long can you keep up with the constant belittlement, the unreasonable hours, the low pay? How long do you think it’ll take for Regina just to fire you out of nowhere?”

Nancy flushed with anger. “Then I deal with it until then. This isn’t just about me. This is about Fernando. He needs that money, so if I have to deal with Regina until the day she fires me, then fine.”

A long silence lasted between the two. It was clear that Alan disagreed with her, but she couldn’t dwell on that.

Nancy was almost completely sure that Regina knew about her and Graham. Before, Regina treated her with the same amount of condescension as she did everyone else, except for the occasional angry outbursts. Now, those occasional outbursts were nearly everyday events. Even Henry gained the ability to sense when his mother was about to go off. Nancy knew that somehow Regina had found out, but she couldn’t confront her about it on the off-chance that Regina didn’t actually know, and Nancy would’ve been the one to tell her.

Nancy wondered if Graham was getting this much flack. Perhaps not, since he still kept his job, but the two stayed away from each other in public to lower the chances of that happening.

Nancy _did_ want to quit, but she worried that it was too big a risk to do so. Even as her nerves occasionally became so frayed from the constant onslaught that she would just cry go somewhere private, or whenever she felt her fist clench up in the need to hit her employer.

“Mommy.” Fernando appeared in the kitchen. “Want to play with me?”

Forcing herself to calm down and smile, Nancy replied, “I’m a little busy right now. I’ll be there in a few minutes.

“Okay.” Fernando said as he raced back into his room.

Nancy felt a little genuine smile come over her face before she looked at Alan. She could still see that he wasn’t convinced of her decision, and if she was honest with herself, neither was she. Maybe she could discreetly tried to find other options. If not in Storybrooke, then maybe in another city.

Because one way or another, she knew Alan had a point. Things were building up to something, and either her patience would break, or Nancy would.

* * *

David entered the shelter, glad that be at one of the few places where people didn’t care about his impending divorce. He was happier to see a familiar face too.

“Hey, David.” Freddie greeted him.

“Hi, Freddie.” David greeted back.

Freddie wasn't one to judge or badger someone with questions. He was a good man, and when David eventually confessed to the reason he broke up with Kathryn, he didn’t really care about it beyond worrying about their feelings.

To be fair, Kathryn didn’t seem nearly as broken up about it as David feared. She was obviously hurt of course, and she asked him if it was because of Mary Margaret. Kathryn thought that they had slept together, so he put that notion to rest. Aside from that, David had a feeling that there was a mutual lack of passion between them, although it was somewhat buried under Kathryn’s hurt over being dumped a second time.

Still, David saw more passion from his soon-to-be former father-in-law than his soon-to-be ex-wife.

“How are the animals doing?” David asked.

“Fine, though in need of a home of course.” Freddie replied. “Some of them were recently adopted, likely as gifts for loved ones. Let’s just hope that none of these new families want to return them.”

David hoped that the animals would be kept and loved. He could imagine fewer things sadder than a hopeful pet being returned after the owners realized they were unable to care for them.

Just then, someone entered the shelter

David turned and found that it was Killian, one of the people who saved him. He’d barely seen him since his welcome back party last month, let alone talk to him.

"Hello." Killian greeted them with a smile.

“Hi.” David said before collecting him. “Um, did you need something?”

“A pet, actually.” Killian said, and he seemed a little out of depths.

“I don’t know how I can help you there.” David said. “I’m just the dog walker.”

Killian chuckled. "Actually, a dog is what I had in mind."

David then asked, “Want to take a walk around then?”

“By all means.” Killian said.

David led Killian through to the back where they kept the dog cages. Once they got there, David asked, “You have an idea about what kind of dog you want?”

"Um..." Killian looked around. "I think a puppy. I know everyone wants a puppy, but this is for children, and I'm worried about getting a bigger dog that might scare them."

“You’re in charge of the library right?” David asked. At Killian’s nod, David continued, “Hoping that more kids will come for the puppy than for books?”

“It’s not like that.” Killian said.

"What's it like then?" David asked.

Killian shrugged.

Seeing that Killian was buttoning up about it, David looked over the dogs. All of them deserved to be adopted, and it was hard to suggest only one of them. There weren’t a lot of puppies, so that helped narrow things down. After looking over the puppies, he found one that might be good.

“How about her?” David asked, opening a cage and pulling out a puppy. The small sign on the cage said that she was female, was nine weeks old, and was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She was also absolutely adorable.

David gingerly put her in Killian's arms.

The puppy seemed impatient, and leaped into Killian’s arms. The man had good reflexes, and quickly supported the puppy on the arm that had the prosthetic hand, while his other arm held her close. The puppy then began to enthusiastically lick his face. Killian laughed a little as he began to pet her, which eventually calmed the puppy down.

“You like her?” David asked with a smile.

“She’s certainly affectionate.” Killian told him with a smile of his own.

“And adorable.” David added.

“Aye, that too.” Killian concurred. “I think she’ll work out. Does she have a name?”

 

“Uh…” David trailed off before he quickly checked on the sign again. “Her name is Lady.”

"Lady." Killian repeated. "A perfect name for you, little Lady."

“You’re about to make a lot of kids happy.” David told him, his mind already picturing children flocking to the library just to see this one puppy.

Lady licked at Killian's fingers.

Judging by the besotted look on Killian’s face, David had a feeling that this could go well.

Since David was only a volunteer, he couldn’t authorize the adoption. Freddie would’ve done it himself, but he was only the janitor, so he went to go find someone who could.

Meanwhile, David and Killian just waited, and talked about the upcoming holidays.

“You have any plans for tomorrow?” Killian asked.

“Not really.” David said. “Freddie and I might end up doing something, since we’re both kind of on our own. What about you?" David asked.

“I’ve gotten gifts for everyone on my list.” Killian told him.

“I actually meant more like a real plan.” David replied.

Killian hesitated. "I'm going to Emma and Mary Margaret's."

 _Interesting_ , David thought, taking note of Killian’s reaction. “Something the matter?”

“What do you mean?” Killian asked.

“Well, nothing, it’s just...something happen between you and them?” David asked, curious about what it could’ve been.

Killian chuckled nervously. “It’s more like what didn’t happen.” Before David could ask more, Killian turned it around on him and asked, “Were you...invited to the gathering?”

“Uh, no.” David said awkwardly. “It’s probably for a best.”

Killian nodded in silence, seemingly just as uncomfortable as David.

David would’ve liked to spend time with Mary Margaret on the holiday, but he knew it was too risky. People were unpleasant to her when there was just a mere _rumor_ about the two of them. If they actually got together before his divorce was finalized, they would never be at peace.

That didn’t make his longing easier to bear.

“I hope you have fun.” David offered up genuinely.

Killian looked apologetic. “How are you holding up?”

David shrugged. “About as well as can be expected. My father-in-law, or future former father-in-law, hates my guts. Kathryn’s hurt, obviously, but I think we both know it’s for the best. I feel worse because it’s taken me two times to actually go through with this. If I’d done this earlier, things might’ve gone a little easier. Fewer people would be hurt.”

“But you're doing what you feel is right, now.” Killian reassured. “I, for one, think that it's good of you to be honest now. If this had gone on for even longer, people would've been hurt a lot worse.”

That made David feel a little better. “I just hope that they can forgive me someday.”

“Give it time.” Killian suggested. “And you can call me up if you’re ever need to grab a pint.”

“Are you asking me for my number?” David teased.

“And if I am?” Killian teased back.

Both of them erupted into chuckles, but exchanged numbers nonetheless.

David had a hopeful feeling that maybe he’d just gotten a new friend. Plus, after everything was said and done with the divorce, he felt like he was really going to need that drink.

* * *

Henry, bundled up with his Christmas gifts safely tucked away in his backpack, walked away from his house. His mom was really busy trying to make sure everything was ready for the Christmas Eve party tonight. She’d of course never done it before, but everyone was cursed to believe that every year she held a party like this at her house. According to their memories, it was only for the well-do-do people of Storybrooke, and the Christmas Day dinner was even more exclusive. Still, no one could seem to remember anything specific about these parties.

When Henry had tried probing his mom about her guest list that year, she was even less specific.

Nonetheless, Henry had another party in mind.

Mary Margaret and Emma were going to have a Christmas party at the loft, and practically everyone he knew was going to come. He hoped that Declan would be well enough to leave the hospital for the party. He also hoped that he, and everyone else, would like the gifts he got for them.

Henry figured that if he left his mom’s party around 9 or 10 ‘clock, he could sneak up to his room, change out of whatever clothes she would make him wear, then climb out of the window with his bedsheet ladder. From there, he’d take his bike and ride over to the loft and spend Christmas with Emma and his friends.

Henry was even more excited at the prospect that he was over Halloween or Thanksgiving. It would not only be his first Christmas with Emma, but his first Christmas _period._

First though, Henry had a few stops to make.

Henry first went to Granny’s, and rested his bike against an outdoor table before entering the diner.

“Merry Christmas, Ruby.” Henry said, elated that he got to say those words for the first time ever.

Ruby chuckled. "Merry Christmas, Henry."

“I’ve got some presents for you, Granny, and Alan.” Henry told her.

Ruby looked touched. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

Henry pulled out his gift for her. “Here you go. Where’s Granny?”

“She’s in the back.” Ruby said before shouting, “Granny! Get out here!”

“What is it!?” Granny shouted back as she entered the main diner. When she caught sight of Henry, Granny gave a more pleasant, “Merry Christmas Henry.”

“Merry Christmas, Granny.” Henry said before pulling out his gift for her, and handing it over. “Here you go.”

“That’s sweet.” Granny told him.

Henry then got behind the counter and tapped on the kitchen bell.

Soon enough, Alan came to the window.

“Merry Christmas Alan.” Henry greeted before handing him a big box.

“Merry Christmas.” Alan said as he took the box.

“It’s a gift for you, Nancy, and Fernando.” Henry said. “I hope you like it.”

Alan smiled. “Thanks kid.”

“How’s Fernando doing?” Henry asked.

“He’s doing better.” Alan told him. “He’s running around again.”

“That’s good.” Henry said. He suddenly felt the urge to warn Alan to warn Nancy that she should quit. He still wasn’t sure what would happen, but he knew that his mom was amping up to something, and he did not want Nancy to be in the blast radius when it did. However, the words died on his throat, and Alan went back to work.

Henry then went outside, got on his bike, and began to ride over to the apartment building Ray and LJ lived in. Before he got there, however, he nearly rode his bike into Killian.

“Easy!” Killian said as he shot a hand out to steady the bike.

“Sorry Kil- Is that a dog?” Henry asked as he looked down at puppy who barked curiously at him. Connected to its collar was a leash Killian was holding in the same hand he was steadying the bike with.

“Yes, and her name is Lady, and she likes walks.” Killian told him as Henry got off his bike.

“She’s so cute.” Henry smiled as he got closer to the puppy. “Can I pet her?”

“Go ahead.” Killian said, and Henry immediately bent over to pet her. He laughed a little when the puppy licked his hand.

“I didn’t know you wanted a dog.” Henry said as he gave the puppy more of his attention.

“It was...an unexpected thing.” Killian said. “Besides, she’s not truly mine. Well, on paper she is, but she’s a surprise for someone.”

“Is it Emma?” Henry asked hopefully as he looked up, but then he noticed that awkward look on Killian’s face. “Is everything alright with you two?”

“Of course.” Killian lied. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

Henry gave him an unimpressed look, and he had an idea on what happened...sort of. “Did something happen with you and Emma?” Then an idea popped into his head. “Wait, are you actually a villain and she found out, and now she’s conflicted because she’s a hero and she likes a guy who’s a villain, not that I think you’re a bad guy.”

Killian gave him a perplexed look before saying, “No, that’s not it. It’s just that we’re perhaps not on the same level as I thought we were.”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked.

Killian replied, “What I mean is that sometimes there are things that I can’t always talk to you about. It’s between me and her.”

Henry didn’t like the feeling he got, the one that said that he was being brushed off, but he also understood that Killian was feeling a little uncomfortable about this. Operation Bluebird wouldn’t go anywhere if _both_ participants felt too scared to take a step.

Instead, Henry just sighed and asked, “So, who is the puppy for anyways?”

“Two girls at the convent.” Killian told him. “They were nice enough to give a present to me, so I’ve decided to return the favor.”

“That’s...really sweet.” Henry told him before saying in a teasing tone, “Awww.”

Killian sent him a flat look just as Henry felt something on his shoes. He looked down and saw that the puppy was clawing at his shoes.

“Hey, stop that.” Henry said as he stepped back. He then got on his bike and said, “I’m gonna go before you puppy eats my shoes. See ya!”

“See you later!” Killian said as Henry once again rode off.

Henry briefly thought about how to get Operation Bluebird going before he finally got to LJ’s apartment building. After contacting LJ via throwing a pebble at his window, the two of them went to the autoshop, where they found Nick and Ava waiting for them.

"Ready for the gift exchange?" LJ asked.

“Let’s do this.” Nick said as they began to exchange their gifts.

“Are you guys sure you don’t want to come to the loft party?” Henry asked as he placed his gift in his backpack.

“We’re sure.” Ava said as she held onto LJ and Henry’s gifts for. “It _is_ our first Christmas with our dad.”

“I get it.” Henry said.

“By the way, we talked to Declan at the hospital earlier.” Nick said. “I think he’s doing a lot better.”

“Who wants to open their gift first?" LJ asked.

“I’ll do it.” Nick said before opening his gifts. From LJ, Nick got some pastels and colored pencils, and from Henry he got nerf gun. Attached to that nerf gun was a note that read, “Please never leave Declan alone with this thing”.

Nick heartily agreed to that.

Ava opened her presents. She got a _Wonder Woman_ comic from Henry, and a diary and some Kit-Kats from LJ.

LJ opened his presents next. From Ava, he got a journal. From Nick, he got pens. From Henry, he got a _Black Panther_ comic book.

“How come I didn’t get a comic book?” Nick asked curiously.

“Dude, you’ve got a nerf gun.” LJ pointed out.

After a month, Nick conceded with a “True.”

Finally, Henry opened his gifts. From Ava, he got a Connect Four. From Nick, he got a copy of _How the Grinch Stole Christmas._ From LJ, he got Jenga.

Henry couldn’t stop smiling. He was actually exchanging Christmas gifts for the first time ever, and it was with people he considered friends.

“Thanks guys.” Henry said as he safely tucked his presents into his backpack.

“I wish Declan was here.” LJ said as he held onto his gifts.

Suddenly the rest of them felt guilty.

Nick then piped up, “We can make it up to him next year.”

“Definitely.” Ava concurred, followed by agreement from Henry and LJ.

Henry and LJ eventually bid their farewells, and headed back to their homes.

Henry would need to hide his presents before his mom came to check on him. After that, he’d just have to grit his teeth and deal with the party. He comforted himself with the knowledge that the next night would promise even more fun.

* * *

Mary Margaret entered Granny’s, eager to give Ruby her gift. The two would also spend lunch together on Ruby’s break, so that would be a fun treat. She was a little sad that Ruby wasn’t coming to the loft party, but Christmas with her grandmother was a tradition, and Mary Margaret would respect that.

That didn’t stop Mary Margaret from catching the somewhat judgemental look from Mrs. Lucas.

“Ignore her.” Ruby instructed as she accept Mary Margaret’s gift.

“Kind of hard to do that when I know what it’s for.” Mary Margaret muttered.  

Eventually, when they found a place have lunch at, Mary Margaret also ignored the judgemental stares at other patrons. Thankfully, those died down a little when Ruby either sweet-talked people, or glared them into submission.  

“So just between us,” Ruby started as she swallowed some food. “You and David are...”

“Not a thing.” Mary Margaret told her. “Certainly not now.”

Ruby nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Things are tense enough as it is.”

“What do you mean?” Mary Margaret asked.

Ruby looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before lowering her voice. “Sean’s dad still won’t talk to him.” Ruby said. “Apparently, the prospect of having a grandchild hasn’t softened him up.” Ruby then shook her head. “Some people don’t know how good they’ve got it.”  

That’s when Mary Margaret remembered that, like her, Ruby’s parents had died when she was an infant. Mary Margaret’s own parents died of natural causes; her mother when she was ten, and her father when she was about eighteen. Mary Margaret knew that it was hard enough to not have your parents around, especially if you got the chance to know and love them, but it was even worse when you had to witness someone else casually throw those relationships away.

Of course, if you had parents like Declan Holtzer, then throwing those away meant nothing was lost. However, Sean and Ashley were good kids, and although she’d never personally met Judge Herman, she would have thought that some part of him would want to see his only child over the holidays.

Ruby was right. Some people didn’t know how good they had it.

“We should do something for them.” Mary Margaret suggested.

“Like what?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know, but something.” Mary Margaret said. “They’re going to spend Christmas with just the three of them, but maybe we can all do something on New Years’ Eve.”

“Got anything in mind?” Ruby asked.

“I’ll figure something out.” Mary Margaret promised.  

Even if Judge Herman wasn’t inclined to be with his son and granddaughter, Mary Margaret wasn’t going to let them think that they were alone.

* * *

“This must be violate a few health regulations.” Ray said as he looked at the puppy in Killian’s arm.

“It’s the Rabbit Hole.” Freddie told him. “I don’t think they care.”

He had a point. Killian had walked into the bar, puppy on a leash, in full view of the employees, and not one of them stopped him from entering one of the booths.

“Maybe she’s just too adorable to throw out.” David suggested.

“You know, that’s the third time you’ve called her that.” Killian teased him.

“Excuse you, _second_.” David corrected with a smirk.

So far, Killian hadn’t regretted adopting Lady. He had felt bad about not getting Phoebe and Mai a gift, and he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that they had gone out of their way to give him something just because he was nice to them. He had though about giving them the dog, but he didn’t know if the convent would allow that. Or, more accurately, if Gold would allow that. So, he settled on the idea that he could keep the dog at the library, and that way the girls could come and visit. Now that it had been done, he _really_ hoped that neither of them were allergic.

Ray joked, “You do realize that now, because of your newest ‘employee’, my nephew may never come back home.”

“The siren call of a baby animal _is_ hard to ignore.” Freddie concurred. Killian had only just met Freddie, as David wanted to bring him along, and already he was beginning to like the man.

Killian chuckled. “Hopefully they’ll remain focused on their work.”

“You’re unleashing a puppy onto a bunch of middle schoolers.” David pointed out. “All hope is lost.”

The group shared a few chuckles.

Freddie then asked Ray, “So David said that you were a lawyer?”

“That’s right.” Ray said.

“I thought Mr. Gold and Mr. Spencer were the only lawyers in town.” Freddie asked curiously.

“They’re the most well-known.” Ray clarified.

“And the most corrupt.” Killian said.

“I could never impede the integrity of two fellow lawyers.” Ray said before adding, “Not without solid evidence of ethical and legal violations, of course.”

Killian could tell from the loko on Ray’s face that he was thinking about the nasty business with Ashley. However, since that deal no longer technically existed due to Emma owing Gold a favor - which still sent a chill up Killian’s spine - Killian didn’t think Ray counted that as hard evidence.

“Still, there’s some truth to it.” David said. “Gold will make you owe him something in return, while Spencer will take everything you have.”

“And our Raymond,” Killian clapped a hand on Ray’s shoulder, “is far too noble to stoop so low.”

“Stop.” Ray waved a flattered hand as he smirked.

“What’s it like being a lawyer?” Freddie asked.

“Pretty good, definitely busy, though being busy helps pay the bills.” Ray says. “What’s it like working at the pet shelter?”

“I love it.” Freddie said with a smile. “Granted I mostly clean up the messes, but I love the animals. Sometimes, I even have to chase them around if one of them gets out. That’s actually how I met David.”

“Yep.” David concurred. “After I got my memories back, I was just walking around, trying to figure out what to do with myself, when I spot a dog running around. Freddie’s running out to catch it-”

“And then David helps me catch Tramp. That’s the dog’s name.” Freddie added. “He was a stray, and he bolted out of the pet shelter when someone left the door opened for too long.”

David then said, “I helped Freddie get the dog into the pet shelter, and that’s how I learned that the pet shelter had recently lost their dog walker. I volunteered, and the rest is history.”

“What about you, Killian?” Freddie asked. “How’d you become a librarian?”

Killian shrugged. “It was available. For the longest time, the library was simply closed. I also noticed that there was an apartment above it, so I figured that if I could whip it into shape, I could get a job and a place to live in one fell swoop.”

“Truly an entrepreneur.” David said.

“Perhaps not the correct word, but thanks nonetheless.” Killian said.

Freddie held up his drink. “Cheers to us having jobs.” He then cheekily added, “And David volunteering.”

“Hey.” David protested with a smile before he, Ray, and Killian held up their own drinks, and they all clinked glasses together.

Lady even gave a little bark in cheers.

They enjoyed their drinks, and began to talk about other things. Talks about their plans tomorrow were kept vague, as they all skirted around the subject of Mary Margaret and David’s upcoming divorce, but overall the conversation remained pleasant. Eventually, though, they were starting to get hungry, and after waiting for some time, David and Freddie took the initiative to find someone. The two of them walked away just as Freddie inquired what David actually did for a job.

This left Killian and Ray alone at their table, with Lady of course.  

“So, you got a new lady in your life.” Ray said with mischief. “Where does that leave Emma?”

“Truly, you are a paragon of subtlety.” Killian snarked. “Congratulations.”

“Alright, alright.” Ray said as he raised his hands in mock surrender. After putting them back down, he asked, “Is that present for Emma ready?”

Killian nodded. “It is. I’m planning on giving it to her at the Christmas party. Think she’ll like it?”

Ray said, “Definitely. Now relax. Just give her a wink and a nod and works your charms.”

“Subtle, Ray.” Killian admonished. “Subtle.”

Ray didn’t look the least bit ashamed. He then took on a more serious look. “You know that Sean and his father still aren’t speaking?”

Killian nodded, having heard about it from Emma in passing.

Ray then said, “Sean and Ashley told me that they thought about spending their first Christmas just with them and the baby, which is fine, but I got the sense that Sean is really missing his dad, and that they felt like they would impose. Ashley told me as much.”

“Is there any hope of the Sean and his father reconciling?” Killian said.

Ray shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe? From what Sean told me, his father seems to be under the impression that giving Sean some ‘tough love’ will show him how hard it is to raise a child as a young man. Trust me, it’s not at all easy, and Sean and Ashley are feeling the pressure, but if Judge Herman had his way-”

Ray cut himself off, having worked himself up and now trying to calm down, though a dark look briefly appeared on his face.

Killian didn’t think he’d ever seen Ray show a true expression of anger before, and he had a feeling that it wasn’t solely the situation with Sean and Ashley earning his ire. Killian had learned some time ago that Ray was raising his cousin’s son, that LJ’s mother and father abandoned him. He also knew that Ray stayed in town instead of trying to make a name for himself in a bigger city to stay with LJ, that Ray’s own parents died some time before LJ’s birth, and that this whole situation was reminding him of that.

Ray rarely showed true anger, and Killian wasn’t keen on letting anything the day’s good mood.

Killian again clapped a hand on Ray’s shoulder. “Come now Ray. With you as their knight in shining armor, they have little to fear.”

Ray’s anger faded away, but he couldn’t give him a completely happy smile. “They’re good kids, and hard workers too. I think they can do it. With a little help.”

Killian nodded, releasing Ray’s shoulder from his grasp as he watched David and Freddie approach with their food.

Ray piped up, “Well _finally_. About time you two got back.”

David and Freddie immediately began poking fun at Ray for his comment, pretending to hoard the food for themselves until Ray apologized. As Killian watched these grown men playfully argue over their food, a part of Killian thought about how Ray did a remarkable job hiding away that anger of his, but Killian knew better. He knew something in him boiled with a certain level of fury, but he kept it down, and Killian hoped that he wouldn’t be the target of such anger when it boiled over.

* * *

 _Henry looks so handsome_ , Regina thought proudly as he quietly sat on one of the chairs, politely talking to any of the guests that spoke to him. The suit he wore looked great on him, and he was being so good tonight. He hadn’t left her sight once.

Regina doubted that Emma could pull off such a feat. It seemed as if the woman was determined to pull out every trace of disobedience, every instance of delinquency in her son. Emma already ruined her own life, and Regina wasn’t going to let her ruin Henry’s.

As Regina conversed with her guests, she began to think about other troubling things, though she never lost her hostess smile.

She still hadn’t found Graham’s heart. None of her contacts found even a whiff of a lead; not Sidney, not the men who were once her guards, no one. They had all failed her, and each day it went missing resulted in Regina fearing just who had Graham’s heart. Was it Rumplestiltskin? Had he somehow awoken as she suspected? If so, why would he do it? The Dark One had never meddled in her control of Graham before.

If it wasn’t Rumplestiltskin, then who? The idea that someone else had the power to awaken their true memories worried her, but that didn’t mean that Regina wasn’t already planning their demise.

After all, she had been planning Graham’s demise for some time now.

Regina felt that it would be a waste to dispose of Graham, but it couldn’t be helped. She wouldn’t risk a wild card holding possession of not only her boy toy, but also one of the most valuable assets she had. She only placed Graham as the sheriff of Storybrooke because he could get things done for her without question. Sidney would’ve done anything for her regardless, but he simply didn’t have the fortitude or charisma to play a convincing sheriff.

Nonetheless, her need for Graham had its limits, especially if he could become a threat to her.

The only reason she hadn’t already fired him is that she was more focused on figuring out a way to make his death an accident. It wouldn’t be easy, as she would need to make it look convincing enough to avoid having Emma become suspicious. It seemed that woman was good at sussing out the truth about everything except the curse, to Regina’s fortune.

If Graham had to die, Regina would need to make it seem natural enough that everyone would just blame it on bad luck.

A heart attack? Poetic, but perhaps not attainable given his current lack of a heart.

A car accident? Could leave a trace of tampering if she didn’t find the right person for the job.

An apartment fire? Hmm, that did have a certain appeal considering her own magical affinity for fire, and the wiring could be made to be notorious for its faultiness. However, that still left the possibility for error if she didn’t find the right person, or if somehow Graham got out of the fire alive.

Regina roamed through several options in her head, calming herself with the idea that if Graham’s heart wasn’t hers, if he wouldn’t obey, he would be disposed off.

If Regina was so inclined, his girlfriend, the maid, would follow soon after.

* * *

_December 25, 2011_

“You didn’t have to come with me.” Killian told Emma as they walked Lady to the convent.

“I don’t mind.” Emma said before holding up a woven basket with a pink ribbon attached to it. “Besides, Henry was pretty insistent that if he couldn’t present Lady to the girls, then I should go in his place.”

Killian nearly laughed at the memory. When Henry realized what Killian was going to do, he look one look at the dog and the name on its dog tag, and immediately went to find a woven basket. He was apparently convinced that simply presenting the dog to the girls wasn’t enough. Lady had to be _revealed_ via putting Lady in the basket, then having the girls open it.

Killian looked down at the basket. “I think the basket is still a bit much though.”

“Henry is convinced that this is apparently Lady from that Disney movie about dogs.” Emma said before adding, “Anyways, he wouldn’t leave it alone until I promised to do it, so here we are.” There was a pause before Emma said, “Tell me something. Why go through all this to give gift to two girls you don’t even know?”

There was a brief pause before Killian spoke. “Remember how I told you that they gave me a gift?” Killian prompted. At Emma’s nod, he continued, “Tell you the truth I didn’t know what to think, because the reason they gave for doing so was that I was ‘nice’ to them. Then I had to wonder...I didn’t do anything special. I just talked to them. How is it that the little I did warranted that kind of response?”

“Things probably haven’t been easy for them.” Emma offered.

“That’s what I thought to.” Killian said. “And if I’m going to be honest, the oldest one reminded me of Liam.”

“Your brother?” Emma asked, her tone containing an undercurrent of sympathy.

Killian nodded. “I just...want to make things a little better.” _To be worthy of that kind of response_ , Killian thought.

Emma just stared at him silently, like she was trying to piece together what he said, and perhaps trying to further discern his feelings.

Emma looked ahead of them, and pointed at something in the distant. “There it is.” She said, and true to form the convent wasn’t too far where they were.

Killian picked up Lady with one hand as Emma opened the basket. “In you go, Lady.”

Lady whimpered as she was put in the basket, which had a blanket in it to help keep the puppy warm.

“It’s okay.” Emma told the puppy as she poked her head out of the still open basket. “Soon enough you’re gonna have at least two kids fawning over you.” Emma then closed the lid, to which Lady barked a few times before quieting down.

Crossing his fingers that Lady wouldn’t bark again and ruin the surprise, they continued to make their way to the convent.

Once they arrived, Killian knocked on the door.

An unfamiliar nun appeared to them. “May I help you?”

“We’re here for Phoebe and Mai.” Killian said, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

The nun looked suspicious.

“We have something for them.” Emma said, holding up the basket to back him up. “It’s a present.” She then subtly flashed the deputy’s badge on her belt for good measure.

This at least got the nun to be less suspicious. “Please, come in.” The nun allowed them to enter the convent before closing the door behind them. Then there was a crash somewhere down the hall. “I believe they’re helping Sister Astrid with decorations.”

“Sounds like one of them dropped something.” Emma said.

“I...don’t believe it was them.” The nun admitted before she added, “Please wait here.” The nun then scurried down the hall before disappearing behind one of the doors.

It didn’t take long before the girls walked out of that room. Once she spotted them, Mai immediately ran up to Killian and Emma, with Phoebe following close behind. Mai was wearing a green elf hat while Phoebe was wearing earrings that looked like Christmas trees.

“Hi!” Mai greeted enthusiastically as she skidded to a stop in front of them. “Merry Christmas!”

“Indoor voice.” Phoebe scolded before saying, “Merry Christmas Killian, and you too Deputy. Um, what are you guys doing here?”

 _Please let neither of them be allergic_ , Killian pleaded in his mind before saying, “Well, you girls were so kind in giving me a present, I wanted to give you one in return.”

Phoebe blushed. “You didn’t have to-”

A small bark came from the basket, causing both girls’ heads to snap in the direction of the basket. When there was another bark, Mai squealed. 

Emma took that as her cue to place the basket on the ground.

“Open it.” Killian told them.

Mai immediately sat in front of the basket, and Phoebe kneeled beside her as Mai opened the lid of the basket. Mai gasped and immediately became transfixed with the creature inside it.

“It’s a puppy!” She joyfully said.

“It’s so cute.” Phoebe said with a growing smile on her face.

“It’s a she.” Killian clarified, unable to keep a smile off his face as she observed the girls staring adoringly at the puppy. “Her name is Lady.”

“Can we pet her?” Mai asked.

“Of course.” Killian said.

Neither girl needed further prompting, and soon they were petting Lady, who was lapping up every bit of attention the girls gave her.

Mai was vibrating with excitement, while Phoebe seemed transfixed by the puppy.  

“Is that a dog?” Sister Astrid asked as she approached them all.

“Her name’s Lady.” Phoebe supplied, briefly looking at the nun before returning her attention to Lady.

“That’s very kind.” Sister Astrid smiled at Killian and Emma. “You both are too kind.”

“Don’t look at me.” Emma said. “This was all Killian.”

Sister Astrid continued to smile before she stepped closer to Killian. She whispered, “I’m sorry, but...the convent isn’t allowed to house pets. We’re barely allowed to house the girls.”

“That’s alright.” Killian assured her. “I adopted Lady, so she’ll be staying with me. I work at the library, so the girls can visit her anytime they like.”

Sister Astrid seemed surprised. “I...I don’t know what to say.”

“What is it?” Phoebe asked, taking her eyes off Lady.

Sister Astrid explained, “Girls, you know that the convent can’t keep pets here, _but_ ,” she emphasized as the girls immediately looked downtrodden, “Mr. Jones here has agreed to keep the dog at the library where you can visit.”

Now it was Phoebe’s turn to look astonished. “Are you serious?”

Before Killian could confirm it, Mai rushed towards him and hugged his leg, saying “Thank you, thank you, thank you” in rapid succession.

Killian felt a little lost, and after looking at the amused look on Emma’s face, all he could do was bend over a bit to awkwardly pat Mai’s back. “You’re welcome.”

When Killian stood upright, he found Phoebe standing there with Lady in her arms, and Phoebe was unable to keep a smile from her face. “Thanks.” She said before she hugged Killian as well.

Killian found himself being hugged by two young girls, and he didn’t know what to do. He looked at Emma again, and while she still look amused, there was something else there. There was warmth in her expression, and it was aimed towards him. Turning his attention back towards the girls, he found himself smiling again. They likely had a rough start in life, and this was but a small thing he could do to make things easier.

“Girls, you can let go of Mr. Jones now.” A new voice declared, and Mother Superior appeared as she walked towards the group. Soon the girls released Killian from their hugs, although Mai tried to hold his hand until Phoebe made her stop.

Mother Superior took note of the puppy in Phoebe’s arms before sighing a little. “Girls, I’ve warned you about bringing animals into the convent.”

“He brought it.” Mai said, looking at Killian before getting Phoebe to let her hold the puppy. “Killian said that we can visit the puppy at the library.”

“Is that so?” Mother Superior asked in a surprised tone.

Killian said, “If that’s alright with you.”

The girls immediately began to plead their case to Mother Superior.

“We’ll be so good.” Phoebe promised as Mai offered, “I’ll make my bed for a week!”

Mother Superior raised a hand, silencing the two girls as they warily awaited her judgement. Mother Superior seemed to be reviewing the situation in her mind, looking between the girls and Killian, and even looking at Emma. After staring longer at the hopeful look on the girls’ faces, and even on Sister Astrid’s face, Mother Superior finally relented.

“You may visit the dog.” Mother Superior said, and then added when the girls smiled, “ _But_ , you must behave and be respectful to Mr. Jones. If I hear that you’ve misbehaved or acted poorly as representatives of this convent, you will not be allowed to see the dog. Do you understand me?”

Both girls nodded immediately with serious looks on their faces, or as serious as two girls their age could be.

Only then did Mother Superior truly smile. “Have fun. Sister Astrid, I believe the decorations need some attention.” She said with a clear underlying message that made Sister Astrid blush in embarrassment. Mother Superior turned around, and Sister Astrid followed her.

The girls turned around and looked at Killian again with wide smiles on their face.

He began to ask, “So...how do you like-”

In the span of a second, the girls shared a conspiratorial look, and once again Killian found himself being hugged by two enthusiastic orphans.

“I think they like her.” Emma said.

“We do!” The girls said before releasing Killian and playing with Lady again.

Emma nudged his shoulder with her own, giving him a silent nod of approval.

Seeing the blissfully happy looks on the girls faces, Killian felt that he might have even earned it.  

The girls were then allowed to play with the puppy outside as Killian and Emma looked after them, as Mother Superior and Astrid had to attend to something inside.

The girls tried to teach the puppy how to play fetch with a stick, but Lady seemed more interested in rolling around in the snow...which led to Mai mimicking her.

Phoebe tried to control an errant little girl and excitable puppy. However, just as Killian was about to intervene, Phoebe called out, “I’ve got it!” before returning to the task at hand.

Killian smiled at Phoebe’s attempts to both play and maintain control of the little girl, and he looked over to see what Emma thought. To his mild surprise, he found that Emma was looking at him with a soft expression on her face. When she realized that he noticed her look, Emma turned her gaze away to look at the girls.

Maybe it was the fact that Emma came all this way with him, or maybe it was the fact that they hadn’t talked about it for so long and he so badly wanted to. Maybe it was both. In any case, Killian ended up asking, “So...are we ever going to talk about what happened at the loft?”

“Nothing really happened, so what’s there to talk about?” Emma tried to ask nonchalantly.

Killian’s heart stung. While he suspected that Emma didn't feel the same for him, her confirmation cut deep. It felt as though someone had taken a dagger and stabbed him in the heart.

“Alright.” Killian replied, looking at the girls instead of at Emma, though he didn’t think he was able to keep all of the hurt out of his voice. “It’s probably for the best then.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Emma look at him before she said, “Look, it’s...I...I wouldn’t have minded it.”

“Well, as long as you wouldn’t have ‘minded it’.” Killian said, wondering how this seeming resignation to the idea of them kissing hurt worse.

“That’s not what I-” Emma caught herself off. She paused before saying, “I...I haven’t been in a relationship in a while, and...I didn’t know if I was ready for…”

When Emma said nothing further, Killian couldn’t help but look at her and ask, “For what?”

Emma looked at him then with a somewhat worried look in her eyes. She seemed uncertain as to what to say.

So, Killian took his chance to speak up. “Emma, it’s alright if you don’t feel anything for me.” It hurt, but now was a time for honesty. “We can just keep on being friends, and we can just..pretend it never happened if you prefer.”

He would’ve rather that they had that kiss, but he wasn’t about to push her into something just because he wanted it.

“That’s just it.” Emma told him. “I don’t want to forget about it.”

Hope began to build up inside Killian. “Really?” He asked as steadily as he could, even as he felt the palms of his hands began to sweat.

“Yeah.” Emma told him honestly before a light blush began to grow on her cheeks, marking her nervousness. “I...I do like you Killian. And I did want that kiss, but I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that yet.”

Killian really looked at her then, and saw the honesty in her eyes. There was pain too. A deep rooted pain that helped to keep her walls up.

Killian pursed his lips before saying, “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want you to think that you _have_ to do anything with me.” He then gave her a little smirk. “Still, if ever you were to decide to take the first step, know that I would be quite open to it.”

Emma, to his happiness, smirked back. “Just how open we talking?”

“I think you’ll just have to try and find out.” Killian replied, and he felt his heart beat a little faster at the subtle look of anticipation on her face.

Killian jumped when he felt something cold against his chest. Looking down, he realized that it was a snowball. Upon looking at the girls, he found that they were staring at him in shock and horror, though it was somewhat marred by the look of amusement on their faces.

“Sorry!” Phoebe called out as Lady circled her legs.

“It was for her!” Mai shouted as she pointed at Phoebe.

Killian, feeling a bit mischievous, grabbed some nearby snow, and tried to ball it in one hand and throw it. Only a fraction of it hit the girls, as his attempts to mould it fell flat.

Emma sucked in a pained breath. “Ooh, not your best work.”

Killian narrows his eyes at her before flicking his fingers so that some of the snow landed on her.

Emma, after getting over her momentary shock, began to grab up some snow in her arms.

Killian immediately began to run as he shouted, “Girls, return fire!” just as a snowball hit his back. He dramatically fell to the ground with a “I’ve been hit!”

Mai started giggling as Lady went over to see if Killian was alright, and threw a snowball at Emma.

“Sorry Deputy, please don’t arrest me.” Phoebe said with a grin before she lobbed a snowball at Emma.

Killian soon got off his feet, and things devolved into a snowball fight for the ages (or rather, the next several minutes).

At one point, while dodging a throw from Phoebe, Emma bumped into him, and Killian instinctively held onto her to steady her. For a moment, the two of them were smiling and laughing as they looked into each other’s eyes...which was then interrupted by an unfortunately well-aimed snowball from Phoebe.

Realizing what she’d done, Phoebe nervously tried to back away before Emma and Killian threw snowballs at her. Killian only wished that Henry was there as well. He knew he’d like this.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad experience.

* * *

Around 6 o’clock in the evening, Emma waded through party guests to open the door of the loft, and she smiled at seeing Henry there.

Henry immediately hugged her. “Merry Christmas, Emma.”

Emma hugged him back, noticing that he had his backpack on. “Merry Christmas, Henry. Come on in.”

Henry entered the room, and hung his coat on the coat rack, though he kept his backpack with him. “Sorry I’m late. It took forever to convince my mom that I was too sleepy for dinner. I actually got out of the house way earlier than I thought I would.”

“You haven’t eaten yet?” Emma asked concernedly. When Henry shook her head, she immediately guided him towards the kitchen.

As Emma put some party snacks in front of Henry, she looked around to check on the other people at the party. Killian was talking to Mary Margaret about something, though he would occasionally steal glances at Emma, sending her a smile that she couldn’t help but send back. To her surprise, as she thought that they were going to stay home, Ashley and Sean came over with Alexandra. Ray was talking with the young couple, and eventually got to hold Alexandra, easily adjusting to the now 7-week-old baby in his arms.

LJ was here, and as soon as he spotted Henry, he started to come over.

“Henry, Henry, look who’s here.” LJ said excitedly.

Emma smiled at his joy, and knew that Henry was going to be really happy about this.

LJ turned Henry away from his food until he was facing the direction of their other two guests.

Declan was sitting by the tree, was fussing with the gifts he brought, while Graham calmly helped him reapply some tape the packaging.

“Declan!” Henry cried out happily as he ran over to Declan, nearly knocking the boy over in his haste to give him a hug.

“Easy, easy.” Graham chuckled as he steadied the boys.

Declan simply hugged Henry back, grumbling with a smile as Henry helped him stand up while he was still hugging him.

LJ walked over to talk to his friends, and soon Graham walked over to her.

“How long is the hospital letting you keep Declan out of the hospital?” Emma asked.

“For a few more hours.” Graham said. “So long as I’m strict with his food intake. He needs to be able to build up his ability to hold down food, and they were very clear that I shouldn’t let him wolf down anything he can fit into his mouth.”

As Graham talked more about what the hospital had told him to do, Emma marveled at the fact that Graham took up role of foster parent despite barely knowing Declan. It made her worried for both of them. She’d had bad experiences with foster parents who went into the thing blind, but another part of her wanted to be optimistic that things could work out. Besides, Graham was a flawed but decent guy. She knew Declan had attitude problems that wouldn’t just disappear overnight, but she also knew that he had a soft spot, if his fondness for Henry and LJ was anything to go by.

He could be a good kid, and maybe Graham could save him from the same path Emma went down in her teens.

“I’ve been thinking about taking him to see Archie.” Graham confided in her.

“Really?” Emma asked. “Why?”

Graham explained, “After losing his brothers, his parents abandoning him, and living alone for so long, I just want to see if maybe Archie could help him.”

“Do you think that would help?” Emma asked.

“It can’t hurt to try.” Graham said. “Though I’m a little worried about Declan’s reaction to it. Any tips on how to break it to him?”

Emma shook her head. “Sorry, no. Regina put Henry in therapy long before I got here, so I thought you might- Sorry.” Emma hadn’t meant to mention Regina, as she was a particularly touchy subject between them. That was an especially bad move on her part given how downright bad the ‘relationship’ was between them, and how things hadn’t gone well between him and Nancy.

“It’s alright. Regina does what wants, and she wanted Henry to go to therapy.” Graham then sighed. “That still leaves me with the trouble of broaching the subject to Declan. He’s already antsy enough about the fostering as it is. I don’t want to spook him into running away.”

Emma had to admit - Graham was in a tight spot. It wasn’t like Declan wouldn’t run away if he thought things were going south. That’s how this whole mess started. Still, Graham had a point. There were likely a lot of unresolved issues that would only get worse as Declan got older, though the kid would do his best to hide it, which wouldn’t make them go away.

Emma herself had some issues, but it was too late for it. The kid only turned 12 a couple of weeks ago, so there was still hope for him.

With that in mind, Emma tried to give Graham the best advice she could give, which she hoped would be enough. “If you do bring it up, make sure that he knows that you don’t think he’s crazy. Henry hates it when someone makes him think he is.”

Graham nodded. “You think I should go with him to the first session? Just to keep him company.”

“Maybe.” Emma said. “If that first one works, then you might be heading in the right direction.”

“Yeah, alright.” Graham said before smiling appreciatively. “That could work. Thanks Emma.”

Emma smiled back. “No problem. Come on, I’m hungry and I’ll eat all of those snacks myself if I have to.”

“Not if I get there first.” Graham teased as he hurried his walking a little faster to head there, succeeding in getting Emma to play along. Even when he began to eat whatever was offered on the snack table, Graham always kept an eye on Declan. Sometimes he ever made to walk over to him if he thought the boy looked weak, only stopping himself when Declan clearly seemed alright.

If this was the kind of attention Graham showed him, Emma could hope Declan would be just fine.

She also hoped that Regina wouldn't ruin this for them. Declan needed a good home, and Graham was a good man. If Regina had something to say, then Emma was going to be right behind Graham one hundred percent.

* * *

“Well, one of us is alone on the holidays again.” Jefferson quipped as he approached Dada, who was standing at a street corner.

Upon realizing that it was him, Dada instinctively smiled before joking, “I think you mean _two_ of us.”

“You’re right.” Jefferson said. “This should be our tradition for all holidays.”

Dada chuckled. “What? Stumbling upon each other, and get plastered.”

“Let’s see.” Jefferson said as he began counting out the holidays with his fingers. “Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, probably St. Patrick’s Day, unless you celebrate other holidays.”

Dada smirked. “So what you really want is to get in the guiness book of records for number of holidays you got absolutely hammered?"

“To be fair, you probably shouldn’t have been drinking at the Rabbit Hole.” Jefferson said. After all, Dada was only nineteen. Even if she was somehow really an immortal non-aging witch, here was a 19-years-old, so that was poor judgement on the staff’s part.

“It’s _The Rabbit Hole_.” Dada said like that explained everything. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

Jefferson didn’t have to be told twice. As they walked toward her apartment, Jefferson had to wonder who she was. From his observations, everyone’s personalities were in some way different from who they really were. The only people who were unaffected were Regina (who cast the curse), Emma (the Savior), and Henry (who hadn’t been born in Storybrooke).

However, there was a core part of their personalities that remained, something that not even the curse could change. For example, Gold (or Rumplestiltskin) still loved making deals and feeding on people’s weaknesses. Albert Spencer (or King George) still walked around with the same level of contempt. And apparently Prince Charming was still somewhere deep in David Nolan, as he had recently begun his divorce against the former Princess Abigail, likely in favor of the woman who was formerly his true wife.

That still left him wondering who Dada really was. Who was she other than a kind girl who gave a man like him the time of day?

Though as kind as she was, he couldn’t understand why she wanted to spend time with him of all people. He wasn’t exactly social, and from what he knew of her, she wasn’t very social either. Apparently her only friends were Henry and _Captain Hook_ of all people.

He recognized Hook from the time he worked with Cora. Hook hadn’t seen Jefferson, as Jefferson caught sight of him through his telescope, his only view of the outside world from his hat shop. Still, it was hard to forget the face of a man who went up against Cora and lived to tell about it, let alone leave Wonderland with her.

Jefferson suspected that his hat was involved.

That just left him perplexed, and fearful. He hadn’t spotted Cora anywhere, which was a good sign, but he had to wonder where she was. Did Hook somehow kill her after all? If so, Jefferson commended the man. However, Captain Hook was a literal living legend, a pirate well known for his ruthlessness. He had heard rumors that his famed ship, the Jolly Roger, would appear in certain ports, and quick as a flash, he and his crew would pillage and burn anything in their path before disappearing again. At first it seemed like just an urban legend, especially since these supposed attacked happened over the course of _centuries_ , but Jefferson knew it to be true when he saw the man in the flesh through his telescope.

Before that, there was an instant that was previously the only thing Jefferson had to go on that Captain Hook even existed. He and Rumplestiltskin concluded a deal when a messenger came in. He breathlessly informed the Dark One that Captain Hook had been spotted, but disappeared. The poor man ended up evaporated after barely getting his message out, and Jefferson was shocked by the _hatred_ that seethed behind Rumplestiltskin’s eyes. He’d seen the Dark One become annoyed, frustrated, or even irate. But he’d never seen him truly hate anyone, and he knew that Rumplestiltskin wouldn’t reserve that intense hatred for a simply myth.

Jefferson hoped that he never earned that level of the Dark One’s rage.

From all appearances, Killian Jones wasn’t as ruthless as Captain Hook, but Jefferson knew that Hook was in there somewhere. If and when the curse broke, he worried about Dada’s safety. Whoever she was, Jefferson didn’t think that she deserved to be on the wrong end of Hook’s wrath. For that matter, Jefferson hated to think of what could happen if Hook and Rumplestiltskin came to blows, and Dada ended up in the crossfire.

“Finally, we’re here.” Dada said as they entered her building. “Well, almost. Sorry Jefferson, but I hope you’ve got strong legs.”

Dada immediately started walking up the stairs, and Jefferson noticed the ‘Out of Order’ sign on the elevator. That’s also when he remembered that Dada told him that she lived on the highest floor of her building.

The curse was already cruel, but this was just _petty_.

After a horrendous climb up the stairs, they finally made it to Dada’s apartment. She seemed perfectly fine while Jefferson was doing his best to not embarrass himself by breathing hard.

Dada clearly saw through his attempt. “It’s okay. You get used to it.” She then opened the door to her apartment and invited him in.

Jefferson entered the apartment, and found that it was a simple place. They entered the door where there was a small living room with a cable TV and couch, with a kitchen connected to it. Dada pointed out the small bathroom that he could use whenever he wanted.

“It’s not much, but it’s mine.” Dada said as she hung her coat on the coathanger, prompting Jefferson to do the same. She then went to the kitchen. “My counselor, Frances, gave me a recipe that I can use to make food for us.” Dada then looked at him and seemed a little perplexed. “Are you still cold?”

“No. Why?” Jefferson asked.

“You’re still wearing your scarf.” Dada pointed out. “Come to think of it, you never take that thing off, do you?”

Jefferson began to feel nervous. He couldn’t take off his scarf. He had no idea how she’d react to his scar. How would he be able to explain it away without sounding crazy? He’d be telling the truth, but Dada wouldn’t know that.

The truth just wasn't believable when they lived in this land without magic, and the curse didn't help matters.

Luckily, Dada’s self-consciousness swooped in to save him from a response. “I mean if you want to keep it on, that’s fine. I wouldn’t want you to overheat or anything.”

“I’m okay.” He told her.

Dada didn't look too certain.

Her concern touched a small part of him that he had long thought was buried.

“You want to help me make dinner?” Dada asked. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

Jefferson smiled, his happiness that he could be involved in something this domestic, after being isolated for so long, nearly overwhelming him.

“Hey.” Dada said gently as she approached him, her face full of concern as she apparently saw through him. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”

Jefferson wasn't sure what to say. He'd never talked to anyone since the curse, and now he had someone that he wanted to talk to, but he couldn't tell her everything that he wanted to tell her.

He knew he couldn’t tell her everything, but maybe he could tell her something innocuous but truthful. He had something in mind, and it still caused a lump to form in his throat.

“I...I had a wife.” Jefferson said. “She died a long time ago and...sometimes I just really miss her, especially when I see other people happy with their families. She always wanted to do things like this, but we only had a few years together before she…”

It was the truth. Even back when she and Jefferson stole things for a living, back when they were younger and thought of it as one big adventure, there was a part of Priscilla that wanted more. There was a part of her that wanted to celebrate things in a way that she never got to do as a child, things she wanted Grace to have. Now Priscilla was dead and their daughter was made to forget both of them.

Jefferson realized that he hadn’t been looking at Dada, so when he did he found that she looked sorrowful.

“I’m sorry.” Jefferson said, trying to chuckle and play it off as a joke. “I kind of brought things down, didn’t I?”

“No, you didn’t.” Dada was quick to assure him. “I know how you feel. I feel the same way whenever I think about my parents.” Dada looked away briefly, some grief filling her eyes. “I told you before that they died, and I told you before that I didn’t want to go to this Christmas party that some people invited me to, because I didn’t want to be a burden. The thing is, that’s not all of it.” Dada blinked some tears away. “The thing is, it’s hard to be around other people sometimes, because I feel bad about other people having families, and of course I’m happy for them. Still, sometimes, even in a room surrounded by people, I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin if I overstay my welcome, and then I just feel…”

"Alone." Jefferson finished for her. He felt the same.

Dada looked at him in mild surprise. “Yes.” She said softly. She then let out a quick, embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, I kind of ramble sometimes.”

Jefferson couldn’t help but smile warmly. “Don’t worry about it.”

Dada just shrugged, still embarrassed.

Jefferson thought it was cute. To spare her further embarrassment Jefferson said, “How about we try making the food? I’m starving.”

Seeing that opening, Dada’s embarrassment faded and turned to exuberance. “Let’s get started.” She then went to the kitchen and started opening the cabinets. “Now where’s my frying pan?”

Jefferson shook his head with a smile and went to join her. He could get used to this.

* * *

Henry, Declan, and LJ sat around in a circle near the tree as Declan opened their presents from them, and they opened their presents from Declan. Around them, everyone else was opening their presents as well.

Both Henry and LJ got ‘Get Well’ teddy bears that had candy bars taped to them, and they had to repeatedly assure Declan that yes, they liked their gifts.

Declan unwrapped his gifts, and found that Henry had given him an _X-Men_ comic book, while LJ gave him the _Sorry!_ board game.

Declan pulled them both into a quick hug before he pulled back, suddenly looking self-conscious at the idea that someone could’ve seen him being all feely.

Henry smiled. At least Declan was feeling a little better.

“Thanks, guys.” Declan said.

“You’re welcome.” Henry said at the same time LJ told him. “No problem.”

LJ then asked, “How’s Graham as a foster dad?”

“He’s okay, I guess.” Declan shrugged, deliberately lowering his voice so no one would overhear them. “He’s nice and stuff, and he hasn’t yelled at me yet, but...I’m just kind of waiting for it, you know?”

“Why?” Henry asked, also keeping his voice lowered.

Both he and LJ leaned forward to make it easier to hear each other.

Declan shrugged, looking a little confused himself. “I don’t know. I just do.”

“I doubt the sheriff would yell at a kid.” LJ told him.

“Even without his heart, Graham’s too nice.” Henry told him.

“You still think his heart’s gone?” Declan asked.

“I know it’s gone.” Henry said. “And I know something happened to it.”

“You’re sure your mom doesn’t have it?” LJ asked.

“I’m sure.” Henry said. “If I wasn’t sure before, I am now. I just don’t know where it is.”

“What about that vault?” LJ suggested. “The one where she kept all of the hearts.”

“You think it’s here?” Henry asked.

“It could be.” Declan said. “The curse apparently brought everything else to Storybrooke, why not the vault full of creepy glowing hearts?”

“You’re right.” Henry said. “We just need to find it.”

Declan didn’t look too sure.

 _He still doesn’t believe_ , Henry thought. _Maybe if I find the hearts, and they glow, then I’ll have the proof I need. Even better, I can figure out who those hearts belong to, and Graham will get his heart back._

He just needed to be careful. He was pretty sure that if he did something that could get him or one of his friends killed, and he survived, Emma might just find a tower and lock him in it.

That's not even counting what his mom would do to all of them if they were caught. Henry suspected that a few more hearts would become a part of Regina’s collection.

Then Graham appeared. “Sorry Declan, but I have to take you back to the hospital.”

Declan couldn’t hide his disappointment. “Can’t we wait a few more minutes?”

"I'm afraid not." Graham looked sympathetic. "The doctor wanted you back at a precise time, and as your guardian, it's my duty to ensure that you're taken care of."

Declan sighed before looking at Henry and LJ. “Sorry guys.”

They both told him it was okay.

That’s when Emma appeared and said, “Henry, I think we should go out too.”

This confused Henry. “Why?”

Emma shrugged. “Just thought we could take a drive.”

Henry knew that she was lying, but he figured she wasn’t going to tell him the reason just yet.

With the promise that Emma and Henry would be back soon, the four of them left the loft. Graham put Declan’s presents in the trunk of his car before they got in, and then driving to the hospital. Henry and Emma got into her Yellow Bug, and they drove off as well.

It didn’t take long before Henry realized where they were going.

“Why are we going there?” Henry asked. “My castle’s gone.”

“I know that.” Emma said. “But I just wanted to show you something.”

“What?” Henry asked again.

Emma just gave him a coy look, and Henry got a little excited at the idea of a surprise.

They eventually parked a ways away from where his castle was. That’s when Emma pulled out a blindfold.

“Put this on.” She said.

Henry complied.

From what he could hear, Emma then got something from her car, and soon he felt her arm around his shoulder as she began guiding him to whatever surprise she had in store for him.

Eventually they stopped, and Emma told him to wait. Her arm disappeared, and he heard her footsteps hurry over to somewhere else. Her footsteps then hurried back, and she lifted the blindfold off.

Emma was standing in front of him with a nervous look on her face, though she tried to hide it. “Merry Christmas kid. Hope you like it.”

Emma then stepped aside, allowing Henry a full view of what it was she was hiding.

The rubble from his castle had long since been cleared out. He and his friends had visited the spot, and it was barren of anything that would remind you that something had been there. Henry had learned that his mom had created a new playground with more equipment, but it just wasn’t the same. Henry really liked his castle, and it wasn’t like his mom gave him notice that she was going to destroy something that he had that she wasn’t allowed to be apart of.

Thoughts of that, however, faded away as he took sight of what Emma had done.

In place of the castle was a tiny Christmas tree, with a singular present underneath. The tree looked almost exactly like the one in the Charlie Brown Christmas special, with its barren branches and a single ornament dangling from it. Henry had been consuming _many_ Christmas specials since time started moving forward again, and he had been babbling about it to just about everyone how much it stuck out to him.

Wait, was that why…?

“You’ve been talking about the Charlie Brown special all the time.” Emma said, as if reading his thoughts. “I know it’s a little corny, but-”

Henry immediately hugged Emma. “I love it.”

Emma stilled for a moment before hugging him back. “I’m really glad you like it.” She said with warmth in her voice.

Henry couldn’t believe that she remembered it. Well, he could, because he’d been talking about it so much, but he didn’t think she’d go out of her way to do this. Maybe it wasn’t such a big thing to other people, but to Henry, it proved that Emma listened to him, that she didn’t just brush off his words like he knew his mom sometimes did. Also, to Henry it was Emma’s way of trying to branch out, to surprise him with something she thought he might like, even if she was clearly embarrassed and nervous at the idea he wouldn’t like it. He of course loved it, and hugged her tighter for it.

And then, without thinking about it, Henry blurted out, “I love you Mom.”

Henry froze, and so did Emma. Had he gone too far? Was this too much to say? Would this be a betrayal towards Regina?

But then, before his fears could become too great, Emma held onto him a little tighter. “I love you too, Henry.”

Henry smiled and snuggled into her embrace. However accidental, he had meant every word, and he knew that Emma felt the same. If this was what Christmas was normally like, then he couldn’t wait until the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the Christmas chapter! I hoped you all like this one, because I definitely got a few feels.
> 
> Feel free to ask questions and comment on what you felt in the review box below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	16. One Step Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Years' Eve has finally arrived in Storybrooke (or at least it will), and everyone getting ready to blow up some stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, no one's really asked this, but if you guys are curious, I've decided to say who I imagine portrays by OCs.
> 
> \- Ray is portrayed by Anthony Mackie.
> 
> \- Freddie is portrayed by Aml Ameen.
> 
> \- LJ is portrayed by Kwesi Boakye (when he was about 12/13).
> 
> \- Declan is portrayed by Chandler Riggs (when he was about 11/12).
> 
> \- Phoebe is portrayed by Willow Shields (when she was about 14, as Phoebe is 14 right now).
> 
> \- Mai is portrayed by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons (when was about 4 on Modern Family, or really the early non-baby seasons).
> 
> So if you were wondering what they looked like, there you go :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing canon from OUAT, only my OCs. 
> 
> Another Disclaimer: So I made a bit of a snafu. I thought I had put in a vital Cora scene in the "Friends and Family" chapter, but it turns out that somehow it didn't make it in the final cut. I've put the scene in, and you can view it now. Again, so sorry about this *nervous laughter*
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left a kudos or comment, and special thanks as always to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_December 30, 2011_

Cora had a deeply held suspicion that the Dark One was awake, and that he was maintaining the facade as the cursed pawn shop owner Regina gave him. This was likely an attempt to protect himself from Regina until he could prepare a defense against her. Like Cora, the Dark One had no access to magic, and thus found themselves at a disadvantage compared to Regina.

Also, Cora hated to admit, Rumple had the added advantage of legally owning the town, which at the very least could make Regina uncomfortable.

Still, she would have to confirm this suspicion, and she would have to be careful about it, which is why she entered Gold’s pawn shop with a story in mind.

Gold spotted her when the bells at the front door announced her entrance, and Cora did her best to appear nervous and unsure of herself, like she was afraid of Gold’s presence.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you in here before.” Gold said. His eyes looked over her face, but he clearly didn’t recognize her. Why should he? Cora was shorter than she used to be, and more stout. Her hair and eye color was the same, but her eye shape was different, and her lips were smaller than they once were. Along with a changed voice, but nothing seemed familiar to Gold, or Rumplestiltskin, at all.

Good.

“I won’t be long.” Cora said ‘nervously’. “I just wanted to find a gift for a friend of mine.”

“And what would you have in mind?” Gold asked, though his eyes were calculating as he tried to discern who she was.

Good luck with that.

“Just an antique.” Cora said softly. “Something nice-looking.”

“Something nice-looking.” He repeated in a bored tone. “You know this is a pawn shop, not a flea market. There is a difference.”

At least he’s retained some of his former snark, and condescension.

Cora just looked around, found something that didn’t look expensive, and thus wouldn’t hurt too much if it broke, and she picked it out.

“You have a good eye.” Gold commented as he appraised the antique. Then he told her the price.

Cora pretended to act shocked. “I can’t afford that.”

“Did I mention that this wasn’t a flea market?” Gold replied. “Of course, if you really want it, you could make a down payment.”

A deal, that’s what he wanted.

“I don’t know…” Cora trailed off, trying to set the bait.

“Or you could just...owe me a favor.” Gold said. “There would be a down payment still, but a down payment alone would cost less than a down payment with a favor.”

Cora suppressed a smile. To him, she was just a random woman who wandered into his shop, and yet he couldn’t resist the pull of getting another person under his thumb. Even if it was for something as petty as an antique.

This all but confirmed it in her mind.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe I’ll find what I’m looking for here.” Cora simpered before walking away. “Perhaps I’ll look somewhere else.”

“You must not be so desperate to get your friend that gift.” Gold commented, bringing Cora to a stop.

Without facing him, Cora said, “I’ll find a way to make it worth her while.” Then, without another word, Cora left the pawn shop.

She worried that Gold was suspicious of her, but even if he tried to look for information, there’d be nothing for him to find. Rumplestiltskin always had an eye for deception, however, and if anyone could suss out who she was, it was him.

She’d need to find some defense against him, just in case he did figure it out, but even if that happened, they were now on a more even playing field. Both were awake, and both had their own interests in this curse. Whatever intention the Dark One had, Cora was determined not to let it supercede hers.

* * *

“Can someone tell me why we eat at Granny’s so much?” Freddie asked the group and with poor timing as the owner was just passing by. At Mrs. Lucas’ stink eye, he hastily added, “Of course the food is excellent, just-” He then clapped with a nervous look on his face.

Only then did Mrs. Lucas pass, satisfied at Freddie’s addition.

Graham just shrugged. “I think this is one of those ‘just because’ moments.”

Freddie didn’t seem entirely satisfied, but put the matter to rest.

Graham looked around and surveyed that the four men in the group - Freddie, Ray, David, and himself - fit snugly into the booth, though occasionally Graham would catch people looking at them. Well, not them so much as David. Seriously, he had to wonder if people had anything else to do with their time.

“I’m just saying, it’s not a bad plan.” Ray said.

“What’s not a bad plan?” Graham asked confusedly.

David said, “You kind of checked out, and in the meantime Ray is trying to play matchmaker with Killian and Emma.”

Ray then said, “Hey, I like Killian, and I like Emma. It’s pretty obvious that something’s going on, and those two are absolutely killing me.”

“Then maybe let things progress naturally?” David suggested with a smirk.

Ray looked unamused. “I’m a single parent working full-time. Let me live David.”

Graham chuckled into his coffee mug.

David rolled his eyes. "Just be careful. Just because everyone can see that there's something between Emma and Killian, that doesn't mean that they do. You could push both of them too much and they'd never get together."

Ray looked absolutely horrified at that notion.

“But if nothing's done, is it possible that they’ll be at a standstill?” Freddie asked.

David stared at Freddie. “Why must you encourage him?”

Ray raised his coffee cup as if in a toast to Freddie. “To a man who understands the truth.”

“Here, here.” Freddie joked as he and Ray clinked their coffee mugs.

Graham tried not to choke on his coffee. Grown men acting like children was always entertaining.

David shook his head. “Children, all of you.”  

“You’re one to talk.” Graham said.

David looked offended. “I never.”

Graham, in spite of himself, started chuckling uncontrollably.

“I think we broke him.” Freddie said, his shoulders shaking as if Graham’s chuckles were infectious.

“Here’s hoping Emma can become sheriff at a moment’s notice.” Ray snarked.

“You’re all terrible.” Graham said as he calmed himself.

“Aw Graham, you know we’d never replace you.” David simpered.

Graham smirked as he placed a hand over his heart. “I really, truly feel the sincerity in that.”

"You should." David nodded. "It came deep from the heart."

“Awww.” Ray said. “You two are so adorable.”

David pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you start matchmaking us too.”

“What did I say about letting me live?” Ray retorted.

Graham once again rolled his eyes. Children, they were absolute children.

* * *

Granny. Was. Awful.

Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but Granny was getting really high strung over making sure everything was great. She always got like this on the holidays, and with more people at the diner than usual, Ruby was running back and forth trying to keep everything steady. It didn’t help that one of the waitresses quit to get a job at the hair salon, and Granny hadn’t found a replacement yet.

Ruby at least had something to look at. Graham was in one of the booths, but she knew that he still had a thing for Nancy, even if the two were rarely seen together now. She wondered what happened. There was David, but he too was off-limits, as he and Mary Margaret still had a thing for each other, even though they too weren’t seen together (in public) a lot. Thankfully, there were two other guys she could make eyes at. There was Ray, who was becoming everyone’s favorite lawyer friend (much to, what she heard, the dismay of Mr. Spencer and Mr. Gold), and a new guy she thought was called Freddie. They were both good-looking and happily single, and Ruby couldn’t help but flirt a little.

Ruby was refilling Ray’s coffee when she heard the doorbell chime. Determined to keep a smile on her face, Ruby turned around to see who it was.

It was a girl who looked to be about Ashley’s age, with curly black hair and a cute face. She walked around some people who were exiting the diner before quieting sitting at the counter, looking all shy.

A protective instinct instantly overtook Ruby.

Ruby went over to talk to her. “Hey there.”

“Hi.” The girl said.

“My name’s Ruby, and I’ll be your server.” Ruby told her.

“I’m Dada.” The girl replied, and immediately looked embarrassed. “Which you don’t care about, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Ruby assured her before quickly handing her a menu. “Let me know what you’d like.”

“Thanks.” Dada said.

Dada poured over the menu, but Ruby sensed that she was trying to hide.

Ruby got behind the counter and stood on the opposite side of Dada. “What’s up?”

Dada looked surprised that Ruby was talking to her. “Nothing really.” Dada replied, but she couldn’t quite keep a wistful look from coming onto her face.

Ruby was intrigued. “So what’s that look on your face for?” At Dada’s shy look, Ruby said, “I’m not making fun, I’m just curious.”

Dada didn't really interact with people all that much. Only kids ever came to the library, and the adults she interacted with were very few. Killian was her boss, and even if he wasn’t, she couldn’t tell him what was on her mind. It would be like gossiping with her older brother. It would just be weird telling Frances. And she couldn’t tell Jefferson, because _he_ was what was on her mind.

Ruby seemed nice, approachable, and interested in what she had to say, and Dada _really_ needed to talk about it.

Dada finally said, “Just...don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Ruby eagerly nodded before crossing her heart. “Promise.”

Dada then continued, “There’s a guy I’ve been hanging out with.”

“Ooh.” Ruby said.

“It’s not like that.” Dada said, before admitting, “But...I kinda want it to be.”

"So you like him?" Ruby prompted.

“Well...yeah.” Dada admitted. “He’s kind of a recluse, but to be fair I’m not that social either, but he’s funny, he’s nice, and...I don’t know he just gets me.”

Ruby said, "Well, if you two connect, and he likes you back, I can't see the problem."

“That’s the thing.” Dada replied. “I don’t know if he feels the same way about me. We only met last month and...” Dada leaned closer to whisper, so no one else but Ruby could hear her. “He told me he lost his wife, and I don’t know how to approach him.”

Ruby felt sympathetic. “How long ago was that?”

“I...don’t really know.” Dada said. “The whole thing was kind of in the moment, you know? I’ve never really had something like this with another person, and I don’t know who else to talk to about this.”

“Well, you’ve got me now.” Ruby said with a warm smile.

Dada smiled shyly back.

Then her Granny had to come in and ruin everything. “Ruby, if you’re done chatting, would you take the young lady’s order?”

Before Ruby could retort, Dada said, “Sorry Mrs. Lucas. I’m afraid I kind of took up Ruby’s time.” She then randomly selected some food and a drink before handing Ruby the menu back.

“Be right back.” Ruby winked, and she bypassed her grandmother, who was rolling her eyes, to give Alan the order.

 _Maybe I can help her get out more,_ Ruby thought. Dada did seem a little out of her element surrounded by people, and that’s where Ruby excelled. Maybe she could get Dada to say when and where she worked, so that they could hang out together.

Ruby looked over at Dada shuffling in her seat, and knew that one way or another, she was going to help Dada.

* * *

_December 31, 2011_

_He called me ‘Mom’_ , Emma thought to herself. Henry had called her Mom. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing, but when he hugged her and called her that for the first time...she just felt so happy. She had gotten to spend her first Christmas with her kid, and everything felt right. Since then, Henry had called her that sparingly, and only when they were alone. Emma got the feeling that he hadn’t wanted to upset Regina, and knowing her, he probably wasn’t off the mark.

Still, it was something nice to hold onto.

“What’re you thinking about?” Killian asked her as they sat at her desk inside the sheriff’s station, eating sandwiches that he had brought over.

She hadn't told anyone about this recent development yet, wanting to just keep it to herself and Henry. Instead, she thought about the first thing that popped into her head and said, "I was just wondering if you still like your gift."

Emma was rewarded by a smile from Killian. "I really like it." Killian told her. "Where did you find that antique map again?"

"Some boutique shop in town." Emma told him.

"And what about you?" Killian asked her, a little hesitation on his face. "Do you still like your gift?"

Emma gave him a smile as well. "I like it." She told him. "It was really nice of you."

Killian tried to downplay it. "I'm sentimental."

"It was a nice gift." Emma told him. "And to be fair, I didn't exactly make things easier for you by not saying what I wanted."

Killian still looked a little nervous, but the smile on his face showed that he got the message.

It was actually...kind of cute.

Then, in an attempt to distract Killian from that, Emma allowed the next thing that popped into her head to guide her response. "Speaking of surprises, do you think Ray’s planning something?” Emma asked him.

“What makes you say that?” Killian asked before taking a bite from his food.

“I don’t know he just seems...different somehow.” Emma said. “Like, he watches us too closely sometimes."

Killian seemed to think on it. “He does have a tendency to linger on us, though I like to think it’s because of our dashing good looks.”

Killian had the audacity to smirk.

Lady barked at them, pawing at Emma’s leg as she stared intently at her sandwich.

“Nope, this isn’t for you.” Emma told the puppy.

Lady whimpered pathetically.

“Uh uh.” Emma said. “Your puppy eyes aren’t gonna work on me.”

Killian chuckled before making a whistling sound. “Lady, come here girl.” Killian pulled out a treat from his pocket.

Lady eagerly took the treat in her mouth.

“What’s it like having a dog?” Emma asked.

“A lot of work.” Killian asked. “I keep hoping she gets the grasp of what she is and isn’t allowed to pee on, but...it’s a work in progress. She keeps trying to steal my socks though.”

Killian gave her an affronted look. “I have a thief in my midsts and you mock my pain?”

"Life is pain." Emma quoted.

“You’re a cruel woman, deputy.” Killian said, though clearly with some amusement.

Emma smirked back at him. “You’ll learn to live with it.”

Killian grinned. "I suppose I will."

Lady yipped again.

Killian looked down at her. "Now, now, I've already given you a treat. We can't have you spoiled."

Lady yipped again, apparently disagreeing with the sentiment.

Emma laughed again. Lady was just too cute, and she wondered if Killian could stay strong and not spoil the puppy.

Killian decided to play it for dramatic effect by putting his hand in his pocket like it was possessed. “Oh no, my hand’s in my pocket.”

“Fight it!” Emma laughed as she played along.

“I can’t.” Killian said though the smile on his face betrayed him as his hand slowly began to pull out of his pocket. “The cuteness is too strong.”

Lady was yipping excitedly.

“No!” Emma laughed again, and without thinking she grabbed at his hand to ‘stop’ him.

Killian stilled, and they both looked at Emma’s hand clasped lightly around Killian’s wrist. He then looked at her, and his face softened.

He looked up at her, and their eyes met.

Emma felt her thumb lightly stroke his wrist, and without breaking eye contact, felt Killian’s hand leave his pocket before his fingers entangled in hers. Emma leaned forward, shifting her seat closer to him. When Killian remained still, she lightly tugged on his hand, urging him to come closer, even as her heart began to thump in her chest.

Killian leaned forward into her space, but held back. He was waiting for her move.

Emma scooted forward, seeing that he was closer now, and her eyes were transfixed to his lips. Emma opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She wanted to touch his lips, she wanted to touch him. Part of her was still scared, but maybe, just maybe, she could just do this one thing. She felt something urging her forward, almost like it was pulling her.

Emma let go of Killian’s hand, and disappointment briefly flash on his face. That was all Emma saw before she grabbed at his shoulders, and pulled him in for a kiss.

Killian still, shocked at first, but soon his lips moved against hers, and his hand went to grasp her arm. His lips were soft, and there was a certain ebb and flow in how they molded around hers. It was almost like every time they pulled back, even for an instant, they would be pulled back in. Killian’s hand went to the back of her head, and his fingers gently and briefly combined through her hair before bringing her closer.

Emma’s hand cupped his cheek, gently and silently urging him to angle his head so that their kissing could be deeper. This was happening. It was _really_ happening. And Emma was in no way regretting this.

Lady yipped again, which brought the two of them back into reality, and they pulled away from each other.

Emma sat back down in her seat as they caught their breath again, and when they made eye contact, each of them got a big stupid grin on their face.

“That was…” Killian trailed off.

Emma tried to think of something funny to say, but her mind was blank, and she just said the first thing that came to mind. “Pretty good.”

“Was it now?” Killian teased, still retaining some humor though he certainly hadn’t lost the blush in his cheeks.

Emma wanted to kiss him again, and she didn't want to stop. So she got up, walked closer to him, and leaned down for another kiss, this time gentler.

Her hands went to Killian’s hair, and his hand went to her neck, pulling her closer once more.

Lady yipped again.

“Seriously?” Emma asked when she and Killian broke away, with Lady running around Emma’s feet.

“Some other time then?” Killian asked. “When we’re alone?”

It felt so good, and right, to kiss him.

Still, she was determined to not him be the last one to joke about this. “I think I can squeeze you into my schedule.”

Killian's smile brightened so much that Emma felt lighter in her very soul.

Emma gave him another brief kiss before pulling away.

“Noooo.” Killian trailed off.

“Sorry.” Emma teased. “Looks like you’re going to have to wait until the new year comes.”

“Oh dear.” Killian said. “How will I survive?”

“You’ll manage.” Emma retorted with a smile.

She couldn’t wait.

* * *

_I wonder if she minds that I called her ‘Mom’_ , Henry thought before attempting to dismiss it. He had called her that because it felt right, and he’d only called her that now when they were alone. He didn’t want to risk his mom, his adopted mom, getting angry. She was already mad enough that Emma was still here, and he didn’t want to make it worse.

“I really like these.” Nick said, bringing Henry back to the present. Henry and his friends were in the back of Ava and Nick’s dad’s auto shop - one separate from dangerous tools - sorting through some fireworks.

Nick pulled out a small box with a design that showed little white packets with explosions. “All you have to do is just throw them to the ground and they pop.”

"Just don't throw them at people." Ava told them.

“Ooh, these ones are really loud.” LJ said pulling out a big box.  

“You think we can shoot some fireworks outside of the hospital?” Henry asked. “I mean unless there’s a way Declan can come.”

LJ shook his head. “You heard what Graham said. The only reason the hospital let him out for Christmas was because, well, it was Christmas. Plus they don’t know if he’ll get sick, or if he has PTSD or something.”

“What’s PTSD?” Nick asked.

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Henry said. Then he sighed. Declan had been getting better, but he was still trying to get better. The hospital also started checking them for any food they might have tried to sneak in, saying that he needed to be kept on some sort of special food diet to help his body get back into shape.

“That sucks.” Nick said.

"Plus, I doubt the hospital would like us disturbing all of their other patients." Ava commented.

Sensing the increasing tension in the room, Henry said as he stood up, “Come on. We should go make some mischief.”

“Or we could not?” LJ said.

Henry wasn’t deterred. “It’s what Declan would want.”

Ava, looking at LJ with a smirk, stood up as well. “Exactly. We have to do something for our fallen friend.”

Nick said, “Let’s break some rules!” At Ava’s look, he amended, “Just a little bit though.”

Ava’s look didn’t dissipate.

LJ stood up with a deadpan look on his face. “You’re all terrible people.”

He followed them nonetheless.

Henry smirked at him as they walked outside, with Ava and Nick telling their dad that they were gonna take a short walk. "You're supposed to be the responsible one."

LJ shook his head in a self-loathing manner. “Sometimes I am weak.”

Henry laughed at him, earning a nudge on the shoulder.

“Who’s that?” Nick asked, pointing to someone across the street.

Henry recognized that person as Paige, who was crying and too busy trying to dab her eyes with her sleeve to notice them.

Henry, after looking both ways, crossed the street to talk to her. “Paige? Are you okay?”

Paige was startled to see him, and now that he was closer, he could see that her eyes were red and blotchy. “Huh? Yeah, I’m okay.”

Henry wasn’t convinced. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Paige said. “I just got into a fight with some of my friends.”

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Henry asked, and he saw LJ, Ava, and Nick joining him.

Paige noticed them too, and seemed a little nervous.

“You want to hang out with us?” LJ offered.

“I don’t know.” Paige said. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Nope.” Nick shook his head. “We were gonna caused mischief anyway.”

“Nick.” Ava hissed.

Paige just looked confused.

“Come with us.” Henry said. “At least it’s something to do.”

Paige thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I guess I can play for a little bit.”

“Great.” Henry said, and Paige began walking with them.

“To adventure!” LJ said, apparently wanting to be silly.

“I feel like we’ve unleashed a monster.” Nick told Ava.

Paige looked at Henry for an answer.

Henry shrugged. “Spend enough time with us, you’ll get used to it.”

“So there’s a next time?” Paige asked a little hopefully.

“Definitely.” Henry assured her, hoping that his circle of friends just gained a new member.

"So, Paige, are you in Henry's grade?" LJ asked, always the one to be most welcoming.

“Mhmm.” Paige replied. “Sometimes we talk in class, but haven’t really hung out before now.” There was a paused before Paige asked, “By the way, how’s Declan been doing? I thought about visiting the hospital, but I didn’t know if that would be good or not.”

LJ responded, “He’s getting better, but he’s still a little sick. The hospital won’t let him out for tonight, because of the noise and possibly getting sick and stuff.”

“How’d he like the card we all made him?” Paige asked, referring to the card her and Henry’s class (as well as Declan’s class) made for him.

“He liked it.” Henry assured her.

“Do you think he’d mind if I got him one just from me?” Paige asked.

“Sure.” Henry said. “I don’t think he’d mind.”

“That’s good.” Paige replied with a smile. She then asked, “By the way, where are we going?”

“I think we need to find more matches and stuff.” Henry mentioned. “Ava didn’t you say that?”

“Yep.” Ava said. “But what if the other adults gets that stuff?”

“But what if they don’t?” Nick asked.

“Does anyone have any money?” LJ asked.

The kids then got into a huddle and pulled out whatever change they could find. They went into the closest store they could find and bought a few matches.

“So now what?” Paige asked.

“Now, we need to practice.” Henry said. “Just with a few of them.”

“Where?” LJ asked before adding warningly, “Not the woods.”

“No.” Henry said, trying to think.

“How about the beach?” Paige suggested. “There isn’t a lot of stuff there, and there’s at least water to douse out any fires. Plus with how cold it is, I don’t think any adults will be there.”

The others agreed, and they headed towards the beach, picking up littered items off the ground to use as kindling.

“Okay, who wants to go first?” Henry asked.

“I’ll do it.” Nick said as they gathered around a discarded newspaper that they picked up, held down by a rock. Nick took a match, with his sister’s warning that he be careful, and lit it. He then carefully and slowly lowered the match down towards the newspaper, then quickly dropped it on there before they all jumped back to watch the fire.

Nick then had what he must’ve thought was a brilliant idea. He pulled out firecrackers from inside his jacket. “Let’s light these on fire.”

They threw sand on the burning newspaper until the flames were smothered. Nick placed the firecrackers on the beach, and this time Ava lit them up. They all scrambled back when the firecrackers started, well, cracking earlier than expected, and they all watched (from a safe distance) as the firecracker twisted and popped.

“Hey, what are you kids doing!” Someone shouted. They all turned to find an adult looking at them, and they began to walk towards them.

So, they did the smart thing, and _ran_.

“Come back here!” The adult demanded, but the kids were faster, and they quickly escaped the area of the beach.

“Is this something you do a lot?” Paige asked as they still ran.

“Just on slow days.” Henry joked.

There was a pause before Paige starting laughing, somewhat incredulously, but mostly out of sheer amusement.

Oh yes. They’d definitely gotten a new friend.

* * *

Mary Margaret parked her car in front of the grocery store when she spotted David, who soon spotted her.

"Crap." Mary Margaret muttered as David approached. Maybe she could duck into her car and pretend that she suddenly remembered an emergency-

And he was in front of her.

“Hi Mary Margaret.” David said as he stood in front of her.

“Hi.” Mary Margaret replied awkwardly.

“So...how have you been doing?” David asked.

“Good.” She replied. “How have you been doing?”

“Good, good.” He replied.

Oh yes, this was not at _all_ awkward.

Neither was quite sure what to say.

David asked, “Are you doing anything tonight?”

“A bunch of us are going to have a party.” Mary Margaret answered.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." David said.

“What are you going to do?” Mary Margaret asked.

“I’m going to a party too.” David said. “Ray invited me and a guy I know from the pet shelter to his place.”

“Ray?” Mary Margaret asked confusedly. “But that’s where I’m going.”

“I don’t understand. Why-” David got a realizing look on his face, and Mary Margaret quickly connected the dots.

“We’ve been invited to the same party.” Mary Margaret surmised.

David quieted at the realization, and the awkwardness was back with a vengeance.

“I guess this means we’ll see each other later.” David tried to say optimistically.

“I guess it does.” Mary Margaret said. “I mean, that wouldn’t be so bad, right?”

“Right.” David said. “I mean two people can be civil and...stuff in the same room, right?”

“Of course.” Mary Margaret concurred. On the inside, Mary Margaret's mind was a mantra of _Okay, keep calm. Okay, keep calm. Okay, keep calm._

“So...I will see you later.” David said before awkwardly walking away.

“I can do this.” Mary Margaret said as she thought about the impending party. “Yes, yes, I can absolutely do this. It doesn’t need to be weird.”

 _I hope_.

* * *

“LJ, hand me those napkins.” Ray said as he and LJ packed up some things to take to the New Years’ Eve party later.

“Here you go.” LJ said. “Do you want me to get the meat out?” LJ did as he was told, playing the part of the good son. Though he was always a good kid, and Ray was proud of him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Ray told him.

There was a knock at the door, and Ray went to answer it.

“Hey, come on in.” Ray greeted David and Freddie. “We were just about to get the barbecue started.”

"Are you going to grill in this cold?" Freddie looked concerned.

"Nah, we're doing barbecue a la the oven and the stove." Ray reassured him.

“Ah.” Freddie said, and Ray didn’t miss the relieved look on Freddie’s face.

Ray closed the door behind them, and heard LJ greet their guests as he should.

David then came up to Ray while Freddie and LJ were occupied. “Hey, Ray, did you invite Mary Margaret to the party?”

“Well, yes, I-” That’s when it hit Ray. “Oh shit.” He cursed, then looked around, and sighed in relief when he saw that LJ hadn’t heard him. He then turned to David. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think-”

“It’s fine.” David said.

“You sure?” Ray asked.

“Yeah.” David said. “I mean, we’re both adults. We can handle being in the same room together.”

“But-” Ray started.

“It’s fine, Ray.” David gently interrupted. “Let’s get our minds off this by getting that meat ready.”

Ray saw what David was trying to do, but he knew that pushing it wouldn’t get them anywhere. So, Ray led David into the kitchen where they were setting things up.

Maybe they could work things out. After all, he had female friends and he got along with them well.

 _You’re not in love with either of them_ , his mind shot back.

 _It’s going to be fine_ , Ray told himself.

Still, he couldn’t help but think of the last time he told himself things were going to be fine with a potential couple, and that blew up in their faces.

Autumn was his cousin, and Vincent was his best friend. Ray had to admit that he was a bit of a romantic, especially back then. Autumn felt more for Vincent than he did for her, and Ray kicked himself because he the truth, but didn’t say anything. he’d still hoped that things would work themselves out.

 _And look how well that turned out,_ Ray berated himself. _You just watched as everyone’s lives imploded, and both of them left because they couldn’t handle the fallout._

“Ray, is everything okay?” LJ asked, his eyes curious and concerned.

Ray put a smile on his face. “I’m fine. Just a little stressed about the party.” He told LJ, the one good thing to come out of that mess.

“You need me to help with anything?” LJ asked.

Ray shook his head. “No. Go ahead and watch some TV.”

“Okay.” LJ said, and without further prompting went to the living room to watch something.

Ray wasn’t the same after Vincent and Autumn left him with a baby. He wasn’t as naive as before, or as complacent. He wouldn’t be passive as dynamite piled up, waiting to explode.

Tonight, he would keep a watch out for Mary Margaret and David.

Ray was not going to let this happen again.

* * *

Dada was heading back from Frances’ place, her old counselor still trying to instill some valuable life lessons in her, and she decided to take the long way home. Sad to say, she just didn’t get out a lot, and Jefferson called to say that he wasn’t feeling so good and that he would stay home. She offered to bring something over, but he said he was fine.

Now that she thought about it, she didn’t even know where he lived, and she wondered if that made her a bad friend.

Friends knew where their friends lived, right? That way they could hang out. Maybe if she found out where Jefferson lived, they could hang out on more than just holidays. As friends, of course. Just friends.

They could maybe invite other friends, just to prove how much they were _just_ friends.

 _Overthinking this a bit, aren’t you?_ , a voice teased her, and it sounded a lot like her parents.

Dada tried not to think of her parents too much. It was bad enough that they died, but the fact that they died being so disappointed in her…

A strong wind blew, and the papers she had been carrying, the ones Frances had given her to help with future jobs, flew away.

“Oh, crap!” Dada said as she began to chase after them.

Fucking wind.

“I’ve got it!” Someone said as they caught a few pages. Dada got the rest of them and then turned around.

Dada didn’t recognize him.

“Here you go.” The man said, handing Dada the papers.

“Thanks.” Dada said. Something about the man stuck out in her mind, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Um, I’m not sure where I’ve seen you…”

“August.” The man said. “The name’s August, and I’m not from around here.”

That’s when it hit Dada. “Oh yeah, you’re the stranger from out of town.”

August smiled magnanimously. “My reputation precedes me.”

“Well, we don't get visitors in Storybrooke.” Dada replied. August had blue eyes and black hair. The scruff, along the whole leather jacket thing, as well as the smile he was sending her, and Dada figured that he could be attractive to people. However, even as she saw August, she kept wanting to see Jefferson.

 _Get a hold of yourself,_ Dada told herself.

“Say, I’m still new to town.” August said. “I’d like to get to know the people here, but I feel like I’d be intruding if I just went around at random.”

Dada immediately sympathized. “Um, well, I’m here. I’ve lived in Storybrooke my whole life, so if you need a guide I’m here.”

 _What the hell did I do that for?_ , Dada asked herself.  

“Great.” August smiled. He then got a somewhat wary look on his face, though he still looked confident enough that Dada got the impression that he wasn’t that worried. “I keep hearing about this guy named Mr. Gold.”

“He owns a pawn shop in town.” Dada said. “He also owns the entire town."

“Impressive.” August commented.

Dada thought it was more a pain in the ass for everyone. Gold had way too much power in her opinion. “More like crafty. He definitely loves making deals with people.”

“And have you made any deals with him?” August asked.

Dada began to feel uncomfortable. For some reason, she got the feeling that he was trying to dig into something that she didn’t want to get involved in. “No, and I really think I should-”

“Come on, let me buy you a drink and you can tell me more about this town.” August offered.

 _Think Dada. There’s got to be a way to dissuade him. Um, um, oh yeah!_ “I’m 19.” Dada said, trying to smile but knowing it came out nervously as she walked around him. "So no-go on the drink. See you later!”

Dada then walked away, hearing August say “Counting on it.”

 _‘See you later’. Why would you say that?,_ Dada berated herself before sighing. _Smooth Dada, smooth._

* * *

_Killian tried not to make it obvious how much he wanted to kiss Emma again._

At least, he hoped that he wasn’t being obvious. He didn’t need their friends questioning him when he still wasn’t sure where this put him and Emma. Was this the beginning of a relationship or just fun? He and Emma needed to discuss it before it came out in the open.

He just needed to distract himself was all. Maybe find someone else to talk to.

Lady yipped at his side, as Killian didn’t have the heart to leave her at home.

“No, not you Lady.” Killian said.

Lady whined at him, pawing at his shoe.

“Having some trouble there?” Mary Margaret teased as she came into view, looking at Lady with adoring eyes.

Lady turned her attention on Mary Margaret as though believing that the newcomer could help Lady get what she wanted.

“Oh, aren’t you just the cutest thing?” Mary Margaret cooed. “Can I pet her?”

“Go ahead.” Killian said, and Mary Margaret immediately did so. “At this rate, Lady will have a throng of admirers.”

“And she’ll deserve every one.” Mary Margaret said as she rubbed behind Lady’s ears, causing the puppy to snuggle closer to Mary Margaret’s hands.

“Oh no, you’ve already fallen under her thrall.” Killian teased.

“I’m happy to do so.” Mary Margaret smiled. She then looked at Killian for the first time since Lady caught her attention. “What’s on your mind?”

“What makes you think there’s something on my mind?” Killian asked, hoping he didn’t sound too defensive.

Mary Margaret stood up from when she was crouching in front of Lady, much to the puppy’s disappointment. “You have this...look.” She told him.

Killian arched a brow. “What kind of look?”

“The kind where you’re thinking about something.” Mary Margaret snarked. Then she said, “No, I mean...it’s the kind of look you get where you’re holding something back.”

It was just as he feared. He was being obvious.

Killian started, “It’s-”

That surprised him. “How did you-“

“Does it have anything to do with the look on Emma’s face?” She asked.

Killian hadn’t noticed that. “What look on Emma’s face?”

Mary Margaret looked over at Emma, who was talking with David. “Mm, I don’t know. She just seems a little...happier, a little lighter. Plus she keeps glancing at you.”

True to Mary Margaret’s words, Emma looked over at him. Though when she caught Mary Margaret watching, she looked away, and returned her attention back to David (for the most part).

Killian’s heart rate picked up. Did that mean that Emma wanted more with him? That she didn’t regret their kissing?

Killian looked back at Mary Margaret, who got an almost impish look on her face. Killian had a feeling that she was onto them.

 _Well, damn_ , Killian thought.

“Did something happen between you two?” Mary Margaret asked with a smirk.

Killian swallowed nervously. He really didn’t want to say anything without talking to Emma first. “If something _did_ happen,” he told Mary Margaret, “we’re still working on it.”

Mary Margaret smiled excitedly.

“That doesn’t mean that something did happen.” Killian warned her.

However, Mary Margaret would not be deterred. “Well, even if something _didn’t_ happen, there’s still a chance that something might happen?”

“If it does, I’ll let you know.” Killian said.

Mary Margaret bounced on her feet. “I’m glad for you two. I hope I don’t lose to Graham.”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “Lose what to Graham?”

“Nothing.” Mary Margaret said unconvincingly. She even more unconvincingly looked around. “I think someone’s calling me. Better go see who it is.”

Mary Margaret then quickly made her escape.

It took Killian a second to process that. They bet on him and Emma? Seriously? Though, he was both pleased and embarrassed that he and Emma were apparently very obvious to everyone else. After all, if they were obvious enough that people took bets, likely on when they would get together, then maybe Killian wasn’t imagining all of it. However, this also meant that all of their friends were watching them.

Lady shuffled around his feet.

“You’re not betting on us are you?” He asked the puppy.

She remained silent.

“Well you may be a thief, but at least you’re not a gambler.” Killian said.

“Why are you talking to Lady?” Henry asked, suddenly appeared in his sight.

Killian was a little surprised. “Henry, when did you get here?”

“About five minutes ago.” Henry answered. “Now why are you talking to Lady?”

“She’s an enlightening conversationalist.” Killian quipped.

Lady yipped at Henry.

“See?” Killian told Henry.

The boy looked unimpressed.

Killian then asked, “How’d you get away from your mother this time?”

“Same as always - bedsheet ladder.” Henry answered simply.

Killian gave him a stern look, though he was impressed by the boy’s skills. He wished that Henry didn’t have to deal with Regina.  

Another thing concerned him. “Are you certain that ladder is secure?” Killian asked.

“It’s worked so far.” Henry replied.

“Still, those knots could become undone at some point, and it’d be particularly unfortunate if that happened while you were climbing down.” Killian pointed out.

“I’ll make sure they’re extra tight when I go back.” Henry said. “Oh yeah, I think I made a new friend today.”

“Oh? Who?” Killian asked intrigued, trying to pay attention to Henry while Lady pawed at his feet for attention.

Henry sat down on the floor to play with Lady, and Killian sat down as well to remain at the same level of him.

“Her name is Paige.” Henry said. “She’s in the same grade as me. I was walking with the others when we saw her crying. She was fighting with her friends. We invited her to play with us, and I’m thinking that we should play with her again.”

“That’s wonderful, Henry.” Killian smiled. “Tell her she’s welcome to come to the library any time.”

“Definitely.” Henry nodded with a smile of his own. “We’re getting more people there than we used to.”

“I can thank you for that.” Killian said.

Henry shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I beg to differ.” Killian said. “You brought them all there. They trust you.”

Again Henry shrugged. He paused for a few moments before saying, “It...feels nice having friends. I mean you and Dada were my friends, but...it’s different with kids my own age.”

“It’s good for you.” Killian said as he watched Henry pet Lady, who rolled over so that he would rub her belly. “You should have friends your own age, not just an adult and a teenager.”

Henry gave him a bemused look. “Well if you didn’t want to be my friend, you could’ve said so.”

Killian rolled his eyes. “Not what I meant.” Then, more sincerely, he added, “Enjoy the time you had. You won’t be a child forever, so make the most of the time you have.”

Henry looked at him thoughtfully.

Killian suddenly felt like he stepped on a conversational land mine.

Henry proved him right by asking, “Are you making the most of your time? With Emma I mean.”

 _What have I done?_ , Killian asked himself. “Are we that obvious?”

“Kind of.” Henry said. “I even have an operation name for you two.”

“You do?” Killian asked, wondering if he was going to like this.

Henry nodded. “It’s called Operation Bluebird. It kind of got stalled, because a lot of things happened, but I think I can focus on that again.”

“Just...one step at a time, Henry.” Killian said. “Emma and I are still trying to sort things out.”

Henry looked excited. “So things are progressing?”

Why couldn’t Killian keep his mouth shut?

Henry then began asking Killian more questions, which Killian did his best to deflect or give non-answers to, much to the boy’s chagrin. Killian seriously wondered if Henry didn’t have a future as a police officer given how thorough and badgering his questions were becoming. If so, Killian wouldn’t be surprised. Emma was quite good at her job, so it only made sense for her son to inherit her skills. And despite Regina’s influence, Henry was very much Emma’s son.

“Okay, food’s ready!” Ray announced.

“Oh thank you.” Killian whispered to whatever deity was listening. When he saw the unamused look on Henry’s face, Killian piped up, “Time to eat.”

“We’re not finished here.” Henry said, though he nonetheless got up to join everyone.

__No,_ Killian thought. _I didn’t think we would be._ _

* * *

Henry was bouncing with excitement. The dinner was great, and now he was eagerly grabbing at the nearest match box to light up the fireworks.

“Easy, Henry.” Emma said as she grabbed the matchbox back. “I’m not about to let you start a fire.”

Her words still didn't quell Henry's excitement at his first New Year's ever.

“I promise I’ll be really careful.” Henry said as he saw his friends and some adults setting up the fireworks. Somewhere else in town, people had already begun to shoot off their fireworks.

There was excitement and anticipation in the air.

“I’ll light the match.” Emma said.

When the fireworks were ready, Emma lit the match, and following Henry to the firework of his choosing. She handed it to him, and carefully instructed him on what to do. Once the wick was lit, Emma snuffed out the flame of the match and got him to run back to safety.

They just got back when his firework, along with a few others, shot off into the sky, and exploded into colors with a _boom!_

“Yeah!” Henry cheered as he stared in awe at the spectacle.

Nearby, the other kids cheered as more fireworks went off.

Henry had to use all of his self control not to jump up and down.

Once those fireworks were settled, they raced back to reload and fire them up. The second his was lit, Henry ran back, nearly tripping over himself as he raced back to Emma, hands over his ears in anticipation of the impending explosion. Then again he might’ve also tripped because he saw David and Mary Margaret talking with each other, and they actually seemed to be having fun.

“Careful.” Emma told him, though her smile betrayed any sternness she might’ve been aiming for. Emma covered her own ears, and winced a little at the sound of the fireworks exploding.

Henry noticed Killian touching her shoulder, with his prosthetic hand, because the other arm was preoccupied with holding a trembling Lady. Instead of shaking it off or stepping back, Emma smiled, and even took a step closer to him.

Henry thought, _Operation Bluebird is coming along nicely_.

“Henry, you can fire another one up now.” Emma reminded him, and Henry wasted no time in reloading another firework, lighting it up and running back, this time close enough to Emma so that he could spontaneously hug her.

Emma hugged him back, even covering his ears at the expense of her own.

Henry noticed Lady again, and took her from Killian, softly petting her in order to calm her down. “It’s okay, it’s just a noise.” He told Lady, though she continued to tremble.

Henry tried to cover her ears with one hand as he looked up at the fireworks above them, the different colors and shapes they took as they suddenly bloomed and then dissipated before his eyes. He watched as his friends scurried back and forth from lighting the fireworks to running to the safety of their parents, just as he did (well Emma was his mom and Killian was, well, Killian, but the thought still counted).

Henry couldn’t stop smiling. He couldn’t remember the last time he could just...have fun.

“I got her.” Emma said as she took Lady from his arms.

“You sure?” Henry asked.

“I’m sure.” Emma said before nodding towards the fireworks. “Go on, have fun.”

Henry didn’t need to be told twice. He ran to reload the fireworks to shoot off some more. Even if it was only for a night, Henry would just be a kid.

* * *

_January 1, 2012_

Nancy wasn’t sure how much more she could take.  

Regina wasn't just unbearable anymore. Intolerable wasn't even the right word. No, Regina was well beyond even polite words at this point.

It was like Nancy couldn’t make a single move without Regina finding some fault with it, breathing down Nancy’s neck as she did so.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Regina asked before going into a diatribe about how Nancy put one of the vases in the wrong place.

Nancy's entire body was tense as she let the barrage of insults fly. She had to take this. It was for Fernando. He was everything to her, and she couldn't be selfish.

“I don’t even know why I pay you as much as I do.” Regina said. “It’s not like I couldn’t find some other half-wit to do your job.”

If possible, Nancy tensed more, already prepared to beg Regina not to dock her wages.

“In fact,” Regina said with a smirk, “I think I’ll dock your wages again.”

“What?” Nancy asked. “Why?”

“Lack of competency.” Regina said. “Now keep going.”

She...she was actually serious. She was going to dock her wages because she _felt like it?_

Nancy’s temper flared. The stress of everything that happened threatening to boil over. Regina couldn't do this. She knew that Fernando had been in the hospital and that Nancy had bills to pay, and that Nancy was a single mother. She knew how much Nancy needed this job.

Stamping down her pride, Nancy said, “Mayor Mills, please, I can’t have my wages docked again.”

"You should've thought about that before doing such a poor job." Regina snapped. "You're lucky that I don't fire you."

“Please, Mayor Mills.” Nancy pleaded. “I still need to pay Fernando’s medical bills.”

“Well your son wouldn’t have been in such a state if you had looked after him better.” Regina challenged.

Regina's words were a slap to the face. Nancy couldn't look after Fernando because Regina always needed her. Regina was a demanding, bitch, and Nancy's temper could take no more. "Well maybe I could if I wasn't looking after your son, because you're so busy fucking Graham."

“What?” Regina asked incredulously.

“Graham told me everything.” Nancy shot back, no longer rational, no longer willing to be rational in the face of someone so malignant that she threw her son’s hospitalization in her face. “He told me about what you had him do, and that he broke it off.”

Regina's face turned an ugly shade of red. “Only because of you. Graham never would have left me if it wasn’t for you.”

“Really?” Nancy fired back. “I mean, it couldn’t possibly be your condescension, your lack of regard for anyone’s feelings, or really just your general unpleasantness. Oh, wait, it definitely couldn’t be because _you’re his boss_. We both know that he put his job on the line just to get away from you.”

“Well he still has his job, doesn’t he?” Regina shot back. “Unlike you. You’re fired.”

“How about this?” Nancy smirked meanly. “I quit. I resign. I am going to leave this awful place, and never come back, because you are by far the _worst_ person I have ever had to deal with. Good luck finding someone else who’s willing to deal with you.”

Nancy immediately got her coat and bag, and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

For the first time in weeks, maybe months, Nancy felt almost completely alright. Of course, the fear that she had just screwed herself and Fernando began to settle in, and something unknown just felt unbalanced, but she was - for the moment - free of Regina. Nancy was determined though. Nancy could handle hardship, as she did before, and wasn’t going to stop until she proved that with or without Regina, she and Fernando were going to be alright.

* * *

Graham thought of the plan for the day. First, he was going to visit Declan at the hospital, and then he was gonna go to the station.

He couldn't wait to take Declan home. His apartment was coming along nicely, and he hoped that Declan would like it. He also hoped that Declan would transition relatively easily to house rules, but he could take things one step at a time.

Graham got into his car, and began to drive.

At some point, the engine rumbled strangely, and he thought about taking it to the car first. He lightly stepped on the gas pedal, and to his shock his car sped up exponentially. Graham stepped on the brake, but it wasn’t working. He stepped on it all the way, but nothing helped. Panicking, Graham tried to turn the wheel but it wasn’t working. Graham panicked, trying desperately to get his car under control, but he couldn’t. He hoped he didn’t hit anyone. He had to stop it somehow, he had to get back to-

The front of his car crashed into a wall, and his chest hit the steering wheel.

His vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Graham got into a car crash!
> 
> But hey, brightside is that Captain Swan got their first kiss in this chapter (though I planned for it to happen at the very end), and Nancy finally stood up to Regina.
> 
> Really hope Graham is okay…
> 
> Feel free to leave your thoughts and questions in the review box below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	17. Tied Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, people worry about Graham, a new friendship is formed, and Captain Swan takes a step forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear. GOD this was a trial to write, but I did it thank GOD.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything canon belongs to Adam, Eddy, ABC, and their overlord- I mean Disney.
> 
> Another disclaimer: Again, I am NOT a medical professional. I am making due with the knowledge Google gives me.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left a comment or kudos. They always make me smile :)
> 
> Special thanks as always to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_January 1, 2012_

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Killian asked Dada as he shrugged on a jacket.

“I’m good.” Dada said before holding up a bag. “I’ve already got my breakfast. I’m just sorry I didn’t get you anything.”

Killian shook his head. “It’s alright. I’m already planning on meeting up with some friends.”

“Including Emma?” Dada asked with a quizzical eyebrow.

Killian just smiled knowingly at her.

Dada’s eyes widened in realization. “No, really?” She asked as a smile grew on her face.

Killian simply nodded.

“Aww, that’s so great.” Dada said before she began to shoo him out. “Go on, go. Woo her and go on a date.”

“One step at a time, Dada.” Killian said in an incredulous tone, though that didn’t stop the smile on his face.

Lady tried to follow him.

“Inside girl.” Killian told the puppy. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Dada grabbed up Lady before she could get out, and said with a smirk, “Have fun with the wooing.”

Killian rolled his eyes but left nonetheless.

He was hardly out of the door before he nearly bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry about that.” The man said.

“No problem.” Killian said before he tried to walk around him. However, the man smoothly stepped in his way, causing Killian to ask, “Something the matter?”

“Ah, no.” The man told him with a carefree smile. “It’s just...my name’s August. I’m sort of new in town. Well, not that new if you think about it. The thing is though, I haven’t really gotten a chance to acquaint myself with everyone in town, so consider this my introduction.” August then held out his hand.

Killian shook it, unaware as to why he felt like something was off. “Welcome to Storybrooke then. If you’ll excuse me, I have to meet up with friends.”  

“Actually,” August said, once again smoothly stepping in Killian’s path, “I could use your help.” He then shrugged as if he was nervous, but something didn’t seem right with that. “I...haven’t exactly gotten to know everyone as much as I should have. Even after all this exploring, it feels like there’s still so much I don’t know. That’s why I’m wondering if maybe you could help me find out what I’m missing.”

It was an innocuous enough request, but something inside Killian told him that something was off. Something just didn’t seem right with August’s request. Killian didn’t get the same feeling he did when he was around Regina or Gold, but that didn’t make his suspicions about August go away.

Instead, Killian said, “I’d love to, but frankly I already have a lot going on. Responsibilities to take care of. You understand, right?”

August masterfully covered up a wince with an understanding smile. “Of course. But hey, maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Maybe.” Killian said before finally walking around August, heading towards Granny’s. Looking behind him, he saw August walk down the street until he was out of sight.

“Hey.” A familiar voice greeted, and turning his head and smiling when he saw Emma walking towards him. Quickly closing the distance, Emma grabbed his hand and began leading him away from Granny’s.

“And where would you be taking me?” Killian asked curiously.

“I’m just buying time before we see anyone.” Emma asked as they walked away from view. “What’d August say to you?”

Killian joked, “I’m offended, Swan. You want to know how the mystery man’s doing but not me?”

Emma gave him a look as they finally stopped down the block. “How are you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Quite well, and curious about the mystery man myself.” Killian said. At Emma’s curious look, he continued, “He just wanted someone to take him around town.”

“And?” Emma inquired.

“That was it.” Killian said.

“That’s not it.” Emma told him. “You get any feelings off of him?”

Killian shrugged. “Nothing I can put my finger on.” Pulling Emma closer with his hand, Killian said, “Now enough about him. Is there another reason you wished to delay our meeting up with everyone?”

Emma gave him a smile. “Actually, there was.” She then leaned forward and kissed him.

Killian kissed her back, allowing her to turn him around and press him against a nearby wall. He released his hold on her hand, and tried to bring her closer.

They broke the kiss and both of them just smiled at each other.

“You think we should go ahead and see everyone?” Killian inquired, hoping she’d say no.

Emma, thankfully, obliged him. “I’m sure they won’t mind if we’re a little late.”

“Only a little?” Killian asked with a smirk.

Emma laughed a little before pulling him into another kiss.

Oh yes, they could handle being late.

* * *

 

“What’s taking Emma and Killian so long?” David asked, looking around for the two of them. Everyone else was here except those two. Well, them and Graham, but Graham was probably manning the station right now.

“I don’t know.” Mary Margaret said from the seat across from him. “They should probably be here by now.”

“Maybe they’re making out somewhere.” Freddie suggested, sending a significant, teasing look at Ray.

Ray shook his head. “Why must you vex me like that?”

Freddie didn’t look the least bit ashamed.

“I’ll take a peek outside.” Mary Margaret said as she exited their booth.

David watched her exit the diner, but barely a second after the front door shut behind her, he saw Mary Margaret stiffen in surprise at something. Before he could form another thought, Mary Margaret got a big, happy smile on her face, and made an excited noise.

David looked at the other men, who seemed curious as to what happened, so the three of them went outside to see what happened.

“Mary Margaret, what’s-” David’s words died on his lips, as he looked in the direction of what caught Mary Margaret’s attention.

There he found Killian and Emma standing there awkwardly, their faces turning a bright red shade as they tried not to look at the four of them.

Ray pumped his fist in the air.

“What’s happening?” Freddie asked confusedly.

“They kissed.” Mary Margaret said to their collective shock.

“Wait, was this the first one?” Ray asked the two.

“Oh my god.” Emma rolled her eyes.

Mary Margaret then went over and herded the still blushing Emma and Killian into the diner, where the others soon followed. The six of them couldn’t fit in one booth, so Ray trapped Killian on one side of the booth while Mary Margaret trapped Emma on the other side, with David and Freddie occupying the booth next to theirs.

“So, when did this happen?” Ray asked in anticipation.

Killian scratched behind his ear and looked helplessly at Emma.

Emma took in a breath, exhaled, and answered, “Yesterday. Before the party.”

David cursed softly before handing Freddie a few dollars, out of sight of Emma and Killian of course.

Mary Margaret sighed in relief. “I didn’t lose to Graham.”

“Wait what?” Emma asked confused.

“They were betting on us.” Killian explained.

Emma’s forehead hit the table with a slump.

“Did something happen?” Ruby asked as she suddenly appeared.

“They finally kissed.” Ray said.

Ruby gave them a congratulations before handing Mary Margaret some money.

“Was everyone in on this?” Killian asked incredulously.

This sent David and Freddie into a snickering fit.

As Ruby asked where Lady was, and Killian explained that he left her with Dada at the library, a cell phone began to ring. David curiously watched Emma pulled out her phone and answered it. He began to feel a little worried when Emma’s face went from amused and embarrassed to worried and alarmed.

“Wait, say that again.” Emma said, listening intently to the person on the other end of the line.

This unintentionally brought the others to silence.

“Oh, shit.” Emma whispered before telling the person on the other line that she would be there. Emma ended the call, and said, “I need to go. Now.” Her tone left no room for argument.

“What happened?” Mary Margaret asked as she scooted out of the booth.

“Graham’s in the hospital.” Emma said to everyone’s shock. “He got into a car accident. I have to go.”

"We'll come with you." David said as he stood from his booth.

“You really don’t have to.” Emma said as she began to walk away.

David and the others that had ordered some drinks were already taking out money to pay for them.

Graham was their friend too, and they wanted to be sure that he was all right.

Emma looked like she wanted to argue, but after seeing that they were not only determined but ready to go, just sighed. “Just...when I talk to the doctor, don’t listen.”

Emma then left the diner, with the others following her outside. None of them really had a plan in mind, and just did the first thing that came to mind. Emma went into her Bug with Mary Margaret following her. David went to his truck, and Freddie and Ray got inside with him, while Killian got into the bed.

All of them began driving towards the hospital, and thoughts began racing in David’s mind.

How badly was Graham hurt? How did the accident happen? Would there be permanent damage?

David tried to put these thoughts away. They wouldn’t know anything until they got to the hospital. He just hoped that his worst fears wouldn’t be confirmed.

* * *

Everyone arrived at the hospital around the same time, and both cars hastily pulled into the nearest parking space. They all got out and raced into the hospital, and after getting information on where Graham was supposed to be, they all piled into the elevator as they headed up to the floor the front desk told them about.

The second the elevator doors opened on the right floor, they all piled out, and that’s when Emma spotted a familiar face.

“Dr. Whale.” Emma called out as she walked towards him.

“Deputy Swan.” Dr. Whale said, taking note of the group of people with her. “I’m assume you’re here about Sheriff Graham.”

“Yes. How is he?” Emma asked.

“He’s out of danger.” Dr. Whale said, to everyone's visible relief. “He’s currently unconscious, but he’s very lucky that he didn’t suffer any permanent damage.” Dr. Whale then motioned for Emma to talk to him away from prying ears.

After sending the others a look that told them not to come along, Emma followed Dr. Whale.

After he was sure they wouldn’t be overheard, Dr. Whale continued, “He’s got a few broken ribs, a concussion, some abrasions and lacerations, and he’s probably going to have some neck injuries from the whiplash.”

“But he’s going to be okay?” Emma asked, hoping Dr. Whale would lower her fears.

“I think so.” Dr. Whale said confidently. “I’ll know more about the extent of the head trauma when he wakes up, but we have already ordered an MRI scan to happen soon. My advice: he should take some time off.”

Emma nodded. “That's good, right? Those are minor injuries?"

“It could definitely be a lot worse.” Dr. Whale said. “Have you determined the cause of the accident?”

“Not yet.” Emma said, now berating herself for not securing the scene. “Has anyone come forward with any information?”

Dr. Whale shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Well if they do, let me know.” Emma said.

Eventually Dr. Whale went back to attend to other patients, and Emma went back over to the group. She explained the situation to them, and they were all relieved that from the information Dr. Whale was able to give Emma, Graham would be okay.

“I have to go secure the scene.” Emma said before she suddenly remembered something. Declan. He was still in the hospital, and Emma knew that Graham visited him every day before his shift started. He was probably wondering where Graham was.

“What is it?” David asked.

Emma sighed. “I have to go tell Declan.”

"I'll tell him." Killian volunteered. "I'll stay with him too, until you get back."

Emma felt bad. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Killian told her. “Now go. Do you job.”

Part of Emma wanted to object, but she knew that she would have to secure that scene before someone tampered with any evidence, if they hadn’t already. “Might as well head down together.” She finally said before turning to the others.

“We’ll stay here.” Ray said. “Keep you updated if Graham wakes up.”

“Okay.” Emma said before turning back to Killian. “Let’s go.”

Emma and Killian got into the elevator, and stepped into it. They each pressed the button to take them to the level they needed to get to, and Emma knew that it wouldn’t be long before Killian needed to go. With that in mind, Emma turned Killian towards her and kissed him.

The kiss was painfully short, and when they pulled away Emma had to consciously stop herself from pulling him in again.

“What was that for?” Killian asked.

“Just...for helping.” Emma said.

Killian then kissed her again, and pulled away just before the doors opened again. “Well _that_ was for luck.” Killian then stepped out of the elevator, and watched her until the doors closed in front of her.

Emma let out a breath, touching her lips as she tried to get herself under control. She needed to do her job, and she needed to figure out what caused that car accident. Even if it was just a pure accident, Emma needed to find the an answer.

* * *

Killian went to the front desk of the children’s ward of the hospital. He had visited Declan a couple of times, in the early days of his stay at the hospital, but he hadn’t visited him lately, and he wanted to make sure he would end up at the right room.

“Hello.” Killian greeted the nurse at the front desk. “I’m looking for Declan Holtzer.”

“Relationship?” The nurse asked.

“Um, tutor.” Killian said awkwardly. At their unimpressed look, Killian added, “I need to tell him something about his guardian.”

The nurse looks unimpressed. “I can take a message.”

 _Smart_ , Killian thought. _They don’t know me. They have no inclination to trust me around a child that’s not related to them, but this isn’t the type of thing that can be told from a stranger._

So, Killian opted for honesty. “His guardian, Graham Humbert, has just been in a car accident. He’s currently unconscious, and I don’t think Declan will take the news well if it comes from someone he doesn’t know.”

The nurse still looked skeptical.

"Dr. Whale was his doctor." Killian continued, hoping more information would gain their trust. “Deputy Swan just left to secure the scene of the accident. Feel free to call her if to see if I’m lying.”

The nurse did so, and Killian waited while the nurse call the front desk for Emma’s work phone number, and it was only after the nurse got direct confirmation from Emma herself that they led Killian to the play area of the children’s ward.

The play area was bright and colorful. The ceiling was sky blue with clouds painted on them, and a part of the room, which had an overhead light, was painted to resemble the sun. There were beige tables with colorful chairs, and a small play house to roam in, along with a wide selection of toys to play with.

Some parents were in the room with their sick and injured children, and sitting alone at one of the tables was Declan, who was reading one of the books quietly. He looked much better than before. He seemed to have regained most of the weight he had lost, an while he was still pale, there was a rosy tone in his cheeks. Occasionally though, he cast a glance to the other families. Killian didn’t miss the look of jealousy on his face.

Declan then looked at the door of the play room, and he looked surprised. “Killian?” He asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Jones needed to talk to you.” The nurse told Declan before motioning Killian forward.

Killian went to sit next to Declan.

"What's going on?" Declan asked.

Killian wasn't sure how to get the words out at first.

“Did something happen?” Declan asked as he closed his book, but using a piece of scrap paper as a bookmark. “Are Henry and LJ okay?”

“They’re fine.” Killian assured him. Trying not to keep him in suspense, Killian then said, “Graham was in a car accident. He’s unconscious right now, but the doctor thinks he’ll be fine.”

Declan became still, staring at Killian. His eyes looked all over his face, as if trying to register what Killian was telling him.

"He'll be fine." Killian repeated firmly.

Declan paused before asking, in a quiet voice, “Can I see him now?”

Killian wasn't sure that that was a good idea. Whale hadn't even let Emma in to see Graham, so he probably looked really bad. No, it was best that Killian and Declan wait for Emma to return, and get hers and the doctor's okay.

“It’ll probably be better to wait until he’s awake.” Killian said.

Declan ignored him, getting up from his chair and heading towards the door.

“Declan, wait.” Killian said as he quickly blocked him off.

“Get out of my way.” Declan demanded. This time, however, he didn’t look at Killian, and his face had that look of barely contained emotions bubbling under the surface.

"Declan, Graham will be fine." Killian said again. "But he might not look it. You don't need to see that until Emma can come back and take you to him."

“I can handle it.” Declan protested as he looked up at him, but he didn’t seem sure of it himself.

"I think that it's better we go back to your room and wait." Killian told him.

Declan paused, but then dashed forward trying to get past Killian.

He only got a couple of feet out of the door before Killian grabbed him.

“Declan, stop.” Killian said as the boy struggle. “Calm down.”

“Let me go.” Declan said as he tried to struggle, but there was a slight waver in his voice.

Killian winced. He didn't want Declan to cause a scene and have the nurses kick him out and leave Declan unsupervised.

Killian turned him around to face him and firmly held him there, kneeling on him leg to keep eye level with him. “Declan, calm. Down. Breathe.” Killian ordered, and Declan wouldn’t look at him, but he at least ceased struggling. He looked miserable, and Killian knew that he had to get him to open up, or else risk Declan emotionally shutting down. “Talk to me, Declan.”

Declan's jaw clenched stubbornly.

Killian sighed. “You want to see Graham. I understand that, but-”

“You understand?” Declan asked incredulously, though the pain in his eyes was clear. And then the floodgates opened. “You understand for some random people pay more attention to you than your own parents did, to have _them_ be the ones to give a shit about you? Graham has visited me everyday since he told me that he was going to be my foster dad. I haven’t even seen my parents once in over a year. No letter, no phone, nothing. How is it fair that they get to do whatever and _Graham’s_ the one that’s in the hospital?” By the end of his speech, Declan was nearly breathless and nearly in tears.

Killian felt the air around them still, as he understood much of what he felt, and he told him so. “Yes, I do.” At Declan’s disbelieving look, Killian continued, “My parents died when I was young. I only had my older brother to look after me, and after he died I had no one. I became angry, just like you are now, because none of this is fair.”

Declan stilled under his hands, and so Killian slowly retracted them, waiting to see if Declan would run again. When he didn’t, Killian took that as a sign that he got the boy’s attention.

Killian confessed. “I still miss them, every day, and it was easier to lash out than focus on the source of that anger, because just like you, it came from pain.”

Declan hesitated in speaking, but when he finally plucked up the courage to do so, he asked, “Does it ever go away?”

“The anger? Or the pain?” Killian asked.

“Both.” Declan said quietly.

“It...becomes easier to bear.” Killian told him. “It never really goes away, but you learn to control it. It just takes time, and someone to be there. Graham, LJ, and Henry are that for you, so you’ve got some help.”

Declan deflated. “Are you sure I can’t see him now?” He asked once more, though with visibly less fight in him.

Killian shook his head. “Not right now. By the time Emma gets back, Graham may be awake. That way you’ll get to talk to him instead of waiting for him to get up.”

Declan nodded, clearly disappointed.

Killian sighed. "Is there anything I can do to take your mind off of this?"

Declan shrugged. “I don’t know. I kind of just want to read again.”

“I’ll take you back in then.” Killian said, and then led Declan back into the playroom.

The parents looks at them oddly, but Killian paid them no mind. They sat back at the same table, and Declan picked up his book again.

“What are you reading?” Killian asked.

“Lord of the Rings.” Declan said. “I just got to the part where- Wait. Have you read this book?”

Killian was mildly offended. “Of course. What do you take me for?”

“A huge dork.” Declan teased. “Sometimes it’s kind of hard to tell if you’re worse than Graham or not.” At least Declan didn’t completely tense at the mention of Graham’s name.

So, Killian played along. "Hey, I'll have you know that I would win that contest." Killian said. "I'm a librarian. I can out nerd Graham any day."

“He really loves puns though.” Declan pointed out. “I’m almost tempted to get him a pun book for his birthday.”

“For everyone’s sake, please don’t.” Killian begged half-seriously.

Declan just laughed at him.

Killian smiled. At least he succeeded in one venture - getting Declan’s mind off the situation, even if only for a little bit.

Immediately, Killian thought of something that would really get Declan going, and he started quizzing the boy on Lord of the Rings.

“Wait, I haven’t finished the book yet.” Declan protested.

“Give me the book. I’ll give it back.” Killian said. After seeing where Declan was so far, Killian handed it back. “There, now I know what not to spoil. Unless you don’t think you can do this.”

Declan looked at him challengingly. “Try me.”

Killian smiled. Oh yes, he’d certainly gotten his attention now.

* * *

Graham was tired. His blearily opened his eyes, and shut them again at the brightness of the lights. He tried to move but stopped when he felt a pain in his chest. Not the emptiness that was nearly always present, but instead physical pain, like something had reached inside his rib change and gave it a good tug.

“Easy, easy.” Someone said before talking to someone else.

Graham hesitantly opened his eyes again, and this time he could see, somewhat blurrily, who it was. “Emma?”

Emma nodded. “Welcome back.”

“Where was I?” Graham asked confusedly, not really thinking about his words.

Emma paused before saying, “You’re in the hospital. You were in car accident.”

“I was?” Graham asked. He closed his eyes, and immediately the memory came into the forefront of his mind.

The brakes. The speeding car. The wall-

Graham opened his eyes with a gasp, looking around just to remind himself that he wasn’t in his car anymore.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Emma told him. “The doctors said you took some damage, but you’re going to be fine.”

"Emma, the brakes..." Graham trailed off.

“What about the brakes?” Emma asked insistently.

“They didn’t work.” Graham said. “I put my foot down on it as hard as I could, but the car just kept going. I didn’t even try to drive that fast…”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

Graham said, “Something was wrong with the accelerator. It went too fast. The car.” Graham touched his face, and found something odd there. “What’s this?”

Emma pulled his hand away. “You got some cuts and bruises from the crash. They’ll heal. Just don’t touch.”

Something wasn’t right. This didn’t feel like… "It wasn't an accident." Graham said.

Emma said, “Graham, we’re still looking into it.”

“This wasn’t an accident.” Graham affirmed. “I don’t think it was an accident. I think…”

“Graham?” A new voice asked. Soon Declan came into view, and he looked a little shocked when he saw Graham’s face.

Graham then remembered something. “Ah, shit.” Graham swore without meaning to. “I didn’t get visit yet. I’m sorry.”

"You were busy." Declan said with a tired but amused look.

“Did you finish reading your book?” Graham asked tiredly.

“Almost.” Declan said as he walked closer to him, Emma moving out of the way so he could be closest to Graham. “Killian came over and we were being huge nerds.”

Emma laughed at that.

Declan turned a stink eye on her. "By the way, what's this I hear about you two finally kissing?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Killian told you?"

"Nope." Declan smirked evilly. "I have my sources."

“You two kissed?” Graham asked with a grin on his face. “When?"

Emma hesitated before she said, “New Years’ Eve. Not during the countdown.”

Graham groaned. “I lost to Mary Margaret.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “What exactly were the terms of your bet?”

Declan looked at him betrayed. “There was a betting pool and you didn’t tell me about it?”

Emma shot him a stern look.

Declan just kind of shrugged.

 _Cheeky little bastard,_ Graham thought proudly.

Then, against his wishes, his eyes began to close, and his breathing became a little heavier. His eyelids felt heavy, maybe if he just closed them for a bit he could…

Graham opened his eyes again, but to his surprise, the lights were dimmer, and Emma and Declan were gone. He turned his head towards a nearby window, and found that it was nighttime now, not daytime as his mind told him it previously was.

Had he fallen asleep?

Graham turned his head back to the door and found someone standing there.

“Graham?” This person asked, and soon they came into view.

“Nancy?” Graham asked, a smile slowly appearing on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard what happened.” Nancy said as she walked towards him, standing by his bedside. “I wanted to see how you were.”

“I don’t look great.” Graham said in a groggy voice.

Nancy chuckled, but her eyes were full of worry.

Graham didn’t want her to look like that, all sad.

“I’m not sad.” Nancy told him.

Did he just say that out loud?

Nancy looked sympathetic. “Yes. Yes you did.”

“Oh.” Graham said. The drugs were messing with him.

“Anyways, I just wanted to see if you were doing, well, better I suppose.” Nancy said, though she remained where she stood.

Graham noted something. “I don’t think I ever really see you out of your uniform.”

Nancy winced. “Well, now that’s because I’m no longer a maid. I quit. Well Regina fired me, but I definitely made sure that I quit.”

“...Huh?” Graham asked. _What did she just say? Are the drugs making me hear things now?_

“I’m not working for Regina anymore.” Nancy simplified.

“Good.” Graham couldn’t help but say.

Nancy looked surprised. “Good?”

“Yeah.” Graham said. “You were miserable and she treated you like shite. You deserve better. Sorry about no money now. Need me to help?” He wondered if rambling was a side effect of whatever he was on.

Nancy just gave him a small, sad smile. "Just get well. Worry about yourself and Declan."

“I can worry about you two.” Graham said, and his eyes traitorously began to drift close again. “You and Fernando.”

Graham felt something press against his forehead, and for a moment he thought that they were Nancy’s lips.

If they were, they soon left his skin, and he heard Nancy whisper, “Just get better.”

With that, Graham once again drifted away.

* * *

He was supposed to die. Graham was supposed to die, but now he was in the hospital, apparently with a good chance of recovery.

This was not good.

Regina was going to kill the idiot she had hired for this job. She’d been waiting since Christmas Day, when she finally decided Graham wasn’t worth the wait, to have him killed. She’d hired the aforementioned idiot to wear his brakes and accelerator over time to make it seem like failure, or however it was supposed to go.

Either way, it hadn’t worked.

After her now former maid had the gall to try to quit on her, to insult her in such a way, Regina thought she could at least get some satisfaction for this, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. If he died now, Emma would be too suspicious.

She had to be careful now. She couldn’t stand the idea of Graham living without her, but she didn’t want that to happen at the expense of losing her son or her curse.

Regina tried to turn her thoughts to other things, but burning anger rose within her when she thought about Nancy. When Regina’s curse started, she had been surprised at this random woman becoming her maid, but she’d never truly had reason to believe that she could be so impertinent. Her accusation...was, in a way, true, but that didn’t mean she was going to get away with what she said.

Regina would blacklist Nancy from ever getting another job; she didn’t care if Nancy or her spawn would starve.

But first, she had to find a better hired hand, which means getting rid of the last one.

Regina had enough problems to deal with already, what was one more?

* * *

  _January 3, 2012_

The first day of school was hectic, and all of Mary Margaret’s students didn’t bother to hide their displeasure in having to come back. Afterwards, Mary Margaret had some paperwork to deal with, but now she was able to leave, and she just wanted some time for herself. There weren’t really a lot of places besides the woods where people could have some time to themselves without anyone watching.

She didn’t think she was dressed for a hike, but she did know there was an isolated lake in the woods, and since it was probably frozen, there shouldn’t be anyone else there.

It would be a nice, solitary place to think about things.

After spending some time walking, Mary Margaret was at the lake. There was a rock that look comfortable enough to sit on, so she did.

It was, of course, absolutely cold, but it was a place to sit.

Mary Margaret took in the stillness of the scene before her, of the frozen lake and the trees bare of leaves. She watched steam escape her mouth, a reaction of the cold air to her warm breath.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the peace that these surroundings brought her.

There was a bark, causing Mary Margaret to open her eyes with a sigh.

 _It was fun while it lasted,_ Mary Margaret thought as she turned to the source of the sounds.

There were two dogs on leashes, a full-grown Dalmatian and a Coonhound puppy, wearing a coat for dogs to keep them warm, and the person holding those leashes was David.

“Easy, Copper.” David said as the puppy tugged on his leash.

When Copper caught sight of Mary Margaret, he barked.

David looked up and saw Mary Margaret, and while there was surprise on his face, he seemed happy to see her.

Mary Margaret was a little uneasy seeing him. They hung out together with their other friends, but it had been a while since they had been alone together.

“Mary Margaret.” David said. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Same here.” Mary Margaret replied before adding, “I mean, this place is a little out of the way.”

“I know.” David said before motioning to the dogs. “It’s a good place to walk the dogs without them constantly sniffing other people. Especially this one.” David said affectionately before scratching Copper behind the ears, who absolutely lapped up the attention.

Mary Margaret smiled at the dog, standing up and walking closer to them. What could she say? She had a weakness for dogs.

 _You have a weakness for David too,_ a voice teased.

 _Shut up, please,_ Mary Margaret told the voice as she crouched down before the dogs. Both the Dalmatian and Copper sniffed her, eager for attention.

“What’s this one’s name?” Mary Margaret asked looking at the Dalmatian.

“Perdita.” David answered.

Perdita licked Mary Margaret’s nose, causing Mary Margaret to pull back with a laugh.

“Easy, girl.” David said, tugging back on Perdita’s leash.

This gave Copper an opening to take all of her attention.

As Mary Margaret scratched Copper behind the ears, she could feel David’s eyes on her. She wasn’t sure what to say to him. Right now, things were good. They hung out with their friends and they could be civil, but she sensed that David wanted another shot. After dealing with all of those horrible rumors and with David’s divorce still not finalized, Mary Margaret wasn’t keen to jump into a relationship just yet. It didn’t matter how she felt about David, or how much that she really did want to be with him.

With that in mind, she tried to divert the conversation. “Have you visited Graham lately?”

“Yeah.” David nodded. “Before I went to the pet shelter. He seems to be doing better. At least he’s not as loopy as before.”

“That’s good.” Mary Margaret said. “I visited him yesterday, and he didn’t remember us visiting the first day he was in the hospital. Well, most of us. He remembered Emma and Declan, but apparently he was pretty out of it for the rest of the day.”

“Given the drugs he was on, I’m not surprised.” David said. Then he asked, “Hey, you want to walk with me?”

Mary Margaret replied, “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“It’s not imposing if I invited you.” David said. “Besides, Copper here really likes you.”

To emphasize that point, the puppy licked Mary Margaret’s gloved hand, before pulling back with a confused look on his face. He probably didn’t like the taste of gloves.  

Still, Mary Margaret hesitated. She wondered if maybe she should just go on the walk with him. As far as she knew, they were isolated from other people, and maybe this would be the time to clear the air between them, to lay down some ground rules.

It was worth a shot, especially since a nice, long, uninterrupted talk would clear things up between her and David.

“Alright.” Mary Margaret said as she stood up, taking note of the pleased look on David’s face. She then motioned for them to continue walking. “Shall we?”

So she, David, and two dogs began to walk.

There was a bit of an awkward silence between them at first, neither quite sure as to what to say.

David tried to start the conversation. “So-”

However, Mary Margaret blurted out, “We need to talk about some things.”

“Such as?” David asked.

“Us.” Mary Margaret said. At the hopefully look on his face, Mary Margaret hastily added, “We should just be friends for now, don’t you think?”

David looked disappointed at her words.

As she suspected, David seemed to want more.

Mary Margaret said, “It’s just that things are finally dying down, we’ve been able to spend time together as friends, and your divorce isn’t finalized yet-”

“It’s getting there.” David said.

“Still…” Mary Margaret trailed off. “Things are good right now, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin something in the future, you know?”

David sighed. “Yeah, I know.” David stopped suddenly, bringing two now irate dogs to a halt. "Wait, in the future? Are you saying that we could possibly be something someday?"

Mary Margaret, who had only stopped a few paces ahead of him, turned around to face David. That hopeful expression was on his face again, and this time Mary Margaret couldn’t help but oblige him. “Once things have really settled down, and maybe sometime after the divorce is finalized.” She then firmly added, “But it’s definitely going to be _after_ the divorce is finalized. That’s why, for now, I think we should just take the time to get to know each other more as friends. We lost a lot of time with trying not to be seen together.” Mary Margaret then had a gentle smile on her face. “And I think we should give it another shot, don’t you?”

David nodded with a smile of his own. “Yes, definitely. And after everything’s finished, we’ll see how it goes.”

Mary Margaret felt relieved. “Exactly.” Mary Margaret then looked at the impatient dogs. “I think we should keep walking, or else we’re going to have a revolt on our hands.”

In higher spirit, David played along by walking again, with Mary Margaret and the dogs following along. “That’s right. And you two are just adorable enough to pull it off, aren’t you?”

Perdita walked silently while Copper sniffed everything in his path.

“I think they get the message.” Mary Margaret said.

“So, how was the first day of class?” David asked, now with a more carefree tone in his voice.

“Hectic, as always.” Mary Margaret said. “Though I think I prefer chaos over my students just not wanting to be there.”

“They’re kids.” David pointed out. “They probably just wanted to play.”

“Hey, learning is just as good as playing.” Mary Margaret said. At David’s teasing look, she added, “Well, maybe they don’t see that right now, but they’ll understand the importance.”

“With you at the helm, I don’t think they have much of a choice.” David teased.

“Hey!” Mary Margaret teased back, and the two of them shared a short laugh.

They continued talking about Mary Margaret’s first day back and David’s work with volunteering, though Copper sometimes tried to interrupt by running around Mary Margaret’s legs, wrapping his leash around them.

“I think he likes you.” David said as he disentangled the leash from Mary Margaret’s legs for the second time. “Have you thought about getting a pet?”

“Sometimes.” Mary Margaret admitted. “But I just don’t know.”

“What’s holding you back?” David asked.

“Time mostly.” Mary Margaret answered. “I can’t bring a pet to school, and I would feel awful about just leaving it alone for most of the day. Plus I don't know how Emma would feel about a pet."

David thought on it. “She seems to like Lady well enough.”

“That’s different.” Mary Margaret said. “Lady lives with Killian, so only Killian has to suffer from a puppy stealing his socks.”

“Wait, she steals his socks?” David asked with an amused smile. “I didn’t know that.”

 _...And technically you weren’t supposed to, since Killian mentioned that to Emma who mentioned that to me. Whoops._ Mary Margaret then said, “Well, try not to mention it. Who knows how Killian feels about it?”

David smiled mischievously.

 _Oh dear,_ Mary Margaret thought.

“I can’t say I’m surprised.” David said. “Puppies will teeth on anything. Copper here somehow keeps finding this one stuffed animal we try to hide from him, to help with his tracking. The few times he couldn’t find it were when he was distracted, which usually led to anything from other toes or stress balls becoming his chew toys.”

“Stress balls?” Mary Margaret asked worriedly, looking down at the puppy like she expected him to cough up a stress ball.

“We get them before he can swallow them.” David assured her before looking wryly at Copper. “Though not from lack of trying from this one.”

“What about you?” Mary Margaret asked. “Ever think about adopting a pet?”

“As of now, not really.” David said. “Walking the dogs is probably helping to suppress the urge to pick one of them up and take them home with me.” He then looked ahead of them, to where the path held less trees and would soon lead towards the town. “Looks like the end of the road for us.”

“Maybe not the end.” Mary Margaret said meaningfully. “There could be a continuation.”

David smiled at that. “That works for me. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Mary Margaret nodded as she smiled as well. “Promise. See you later.”

Mary Margaret then waved at David as he led the dogs away, though Copper kept trying to go to her.

 _Maybe this could work out,_ Mary Margaret hoped. _We just have to be careful._

With that in mind, Mary Margaret turned to walk towards her car, thoughts of her peaceful walk with David still on her mind.

* * *

Henry, like all of his friends, didn’t enjoy going back to school. Perhaps the only upside was that Paige talked to him more than usual, probably because her other friends weren’t talking to her.

He didn’t like Paige’s other friends. Paige was a great girl and the way they treated her just didn’t seem right. At first things seemed fine, with Paige and her friends talking before class like nothing had happened. But by the time recess had rolled around, she had been pushed aside again. Henry and the others were quick to swoop in to keep her company, and they’d even convinced her to come to the library with them.

“So we’re just going to study at the library?” Paige asked a little hesitantly.

“Yeah.” Henry said. “If we finish up quick, then we can hang out there. Just as long as we clean up any messes we make.”

“No paper football though.” LJ added. “I don’t think Killian has totally forgiven us for making that mess before.”

“I don’t think he minds.” Henry replied. “Besides, that was months ago.”

“You sure about that?” LJ asked with a raised eyebrow. “He keeps eyeing us every time we start making them.”

“Or maybe he was just glaring at Declan again.” Henry suggested. When Henry visited Declan at the hospital yesterday, his friend had told him that things between him and Killian had gotten better, with them even being ‘huge nerds about Lord of the Rings’, but that didn’t mean Henry thought their rivalry was going to end anytime soon. In fact, this may only increase it.

That’s when Henry spotted August, the stranger from out of town. Henry hadn’t seen him a lot, though not for lack of trying. Both his mom _and_ Emma warned Henry to stay away from him, which he thought was probably because of August appearing in front of their house. Henry tried to find him, but he kept getting distracted. There was Declan’s hospitalization, then there was Christmas, and then there was New Years’. Henry had been having so much fun that August just kind of escaped his mind.

Henry was going to correct that. “You guys go ahead.” Henry told his friends. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Where are you going?” LJ asked as Henry began walking towards August.

“I’ll see you later.” Henry told him, waving them away until they rounded the street corner. However, when he turned around, for a brief second he spotted them ducking behind the corner again, likely hiding behind a building to keep an eye on him.

Shaking his head, Henry continued walking towards August. “Hi.” Henry said.

August looked down at him. “Hey. You’re the mayor’s kid right?”

 _He’s good_ , Henry thought. _He almost sounds like he really didn’t remember._ “That’s right. And you’re August.”

"Good memory, kid." August said.

“You’ve been in Storybrooke for a while.” Henry noted. “What do you think about it now?”

August scrutinized him. "It's very...inspiring."

Henry knew that August was onto him, but he wasn’t about to tell him that. “Anything specific that inspires you?”

"Why are you so interested?" August asked.

Henry bluntly stated, “Because you’re the first person to come to town who I don’t know. There’s my mom - my biological mom - but other than that, I know why everyone else is here.”

“Really?” August asked. “You sure that no one else has come here that you didn’t know?”

“Pretty sure.” Henry said.

"Well, maybe this town is finally on the map." August told him.

“I doubt that.” Henry said with a stare.

August raised a brow. "Maybe I should ask your mom if you should be talking to strangers."

Henry raised his own eyebrow. “So why have you been talking to me this long? You’re the adult. Aren’t you supposed to know better?”

"Man, you're a dog with a bone." August chuckled.

“I do my best.” Henry smirked, not the least bit ashamed.

“Hate to break it to you, but I think your friends are getting impatient.” August pointed to something behind Henry, and when he turned around, Henry saw that his friends were indeed watching him still.

When Henry turned around, August was walking down the block.

“Hey, we weren’t finished!” Henry protested.

“I think we are!” August said without looking back. “See you around!”

Henry could’ve run after him, but he got the feeling that he’d get the same runaround as before. Henry turned around to walk towards his friends, who immediately started bombarding him with questions. Henry answered as best as he could, but his mind was occupied with other things.

Who was August? Why was he here? Heck, how did he even get here?”

Henry was going to have to gather some intel.

* * *

It was near closing time, and Killian was restocking some returned books when Emma surprised him.

“Hey there.” Emma said as she walked in. Her eyes looked around, and when she saw that they were alone, she went forward and kissed him.

Killian smiled into the kiss, putting a hand on the back of her head to deepen the kiss. He could certainly get used to this.

When they pulled back, he cheekily asked, “What was that for?”

Emma shrugged. “Just because.”

"Well, feel free to kiss me anytime you desire." Killian leaned forward and gave her a chaste peck.

Emma slowly pulled back from him with a contemplative look on her face. “I think we should talk.”

Killian was hoping that it was a conversation about what they were now, and not a conversation that lead to Emma regretting things between them.

To avoid building any suspense, Killian asked outright, “Having second thoughts?”

Emma shook her head. "I just think that we need to make things clear."

"Oh?" Killian hoped she meant that they were finally going to move forward.

Emma then seemed a little awkward. “It’s just...I haven’t really...dated anyone in a while. After the last guy I was really with, most of the time when I met someone who I wasn’t tracking for jumping bail we just…got together and then left each other alone.” Emma began to blush at that, not really making eye contact with Killian.

"You want to date me?" Killian grinned. "Why Swan if I knew that, I would've told you I've long since been wooed by you."

Emma sent him a look with a chagrined smile, before nudging his arm with an amused “Stop.” Emma then lost that smile and said, “Look, what I’m trying to say is that I’m out of practice, and I don’t want to move too fast.”

Killian turned serious, his expression softening. "Emma, you never have to worry about that. We'll go at whatever speed you're comfortable with. I'm a patient man."

Emma looked unsure. Her eyes searched his face, trying to determine the sincerity of his words. Even though she seemed somewhat satisfied with his answer, there was still of part of Emma that Killian knew was holding her back from completely trusting him.

Emma, without really addressing what he said, asked him, “So, you want to go out sometime. I mean it might be kind of tricky planning a date, what with Graham still being in the hospital, but we could try something out.”

He was sure that he looked stupid with his wide, toothy smile, and he probably had stars in his eyes, but Killian didn't care. Emma Swan had just asked him out on a date. "I'd love that."

This time, Emma’s smile was shy. “Really?”

“Of course.” Killian said with flattering sincerity. “Think about it - the music, the kissing, the lights, the kissing.”

Emma eyed him with a smirk. “I think you’re a little too focused on the kissing.”

“Am I?” Killian asked in mock confusion before allowing it to melt away. “Well, perhaps that’s because I enjoy it.” To emphasize that point, Killian kissed Emma. He could do this all night.

Emma was beginning to kiss him back when there was a yip by his feet.

Killian sighed, trying to withhold his frustration as he looked down at Lady, who stared up at the two of them with wide eyes. He loved his dog, but she had absolutely shit timing.

“I think someone’s getting jealous.” Emma mused as Lady pawed at Killian’s feet.

“Or she’s trying to take my socks again.” Killian said.

He knelt down to pat Lady, but the pup jumped into his lap. Holding her in his arms, she immediately began licking his face.

"Told you so." Emma teased.

“Alright, alright.” He told Lady as he picked her up with one hand, holding her to his chest, though she didn’t exactly cease in trying to lick his face.

Lady then turned her head and sniffed at Emma, who began scratching behind Lady’s ears.

Lady rewarded her by licking her fingers.  

Emma chuckled. She then thought about something. “Where’s Dada by the way?”

“I sent her home already.” Killian said. He then added with a meaningful tone, “She seemed in a hurry to get somewhere.”

“And you have suspicions about where she might be going.” Emma guessed.

Killian said, “I think she’s been seeing a man, but she won’t tell me anything about it.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “And you’re so interested in this why?”

Killian said, “I know, she’s my employee, but honestly it’s like my little sister dating someone in secret.”

Emma tilted her head teasingly at him. “Are you sure you’re not being a _smidge_ overprotective?”

Killian shrugged. “For his sake, whoever he is, he better treat her right."

“Better treat who right?” Dada asked as she came in, causing Killian to nearly jump where he stood.

“Dada, what are you doing here?” Killian asked, really hoping she didn’t hear him.

“I forgot my keys.” Dada explained before looking between the two of them. “What were you two doing?” She asked suspiciously, though the smirk on her face betrayed her.

“Talking.” Emma said with a warning look.

“Mhmm.” Dada cheekily hummed as she went to find her keys.

She passed a window, and Killian spotted a man standing outside, looking around but facing the library, clearly waiting for someone.

“Who’s that?” Killian asked aloud.

Emma looked through the window as well, but shook her head, not recognizing the man.

“Who’s who?” Dada asked as she came into view. When she looked at what they we’re looking at, she became a little flustered. “Oh, he’s just a friend."

Killian glared at the man.

“Hey, tone down the glare.” Dada told him with a stern look.

“What’s this friend’s name?” Killian asked.

"None of your business." Dada glared back. “I’ve got to go.”

Killian wanted to stop her and ask her more questions, but Emma grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

Dada walked out of the library, and joined the man on the street. The two of them walked away together and were soon out of sight.

“At least we know what her friend looks like.” Emma offered.

“He looks like he’s almost thirty.” Killian observed. "He's too old for her."

Emma rolled her eyes. “Again, maybe you’re just being a _smidge_ overprotective. Besides, you heard her, they’re friends.”

Killian scoffed.

“I didn’t get the vibe that they were anything but friends, at least now.” Emma said. At Killian’s look, she added, “Besides, even if they are dating, she’s nineteen. She _can_ make her own decisions.”

“I know, I know.” Killian said, though not exactly pleased by it.

“Uh oh, you’re pouting.” Emma said before taking Lady and holding the puppy to his face. “Quick, lick him.”

Lady, despite not understanding what was going on, did so.

“That is unfair, Swan.” Killian said as he tried to evade Lady’s kisses.

Emma just followed him with the dog, laughing at him oh so cruelly. “Oh come on, she looooves you.”

"You two are terrible." Killian grumbled.

Emma gasped in mock shock, holding Lady close to her while pressing the puppy’s head against her chest, trying to cover Lady’s ears. “Are you trying to break a puppy’s heart?”

Killian pulled Emma to him. "You play dirty."

Emma sent him a flirtatious, challenging look, going in to give him a kiss, but deliberately making it short so that when she pulled back, he tried following her.

Killian liked a challenge. “Dirty indeed.”

He went in for a kiss, and the two of them kissed more and more.

That was until Lady, unamused by the lack of attention towards her, licked at them both.

“Bad girl.” Killian lightly admonished before taking the dog from Emma. Killian went to say something, but Emma pulled him in for one last teasing kiss before pulling away.

“Are we going to work out the details of those date, or what?” Emma asked.

Killian assented. “Why yes, yes we should.”

This woman was going to drive him mad. The sooner they could have some quality alone time, the better.

* * *

_January 4, 2012_

“For once, things seem to be looking up.” David said to Ray. “I mean we’ll just be friends for now, but I think there’s a chance that at some point we can work things out.  

“Um, David, as much as I really enjoy these chats, we kind of need to focus.” Ray told him. “On your divorce proceedings.”

“Oh, right.” David said, embarrassed about how sidetracked he got. Ray was right. He wanted to get this divorce over with as soon as possible.

“I will say this.” Ray said. “Kathryn is being far more amenable than most women who are served divorce papers after the second separation. She wants to keep the house, among other items here,” Ray handed David some papers, “but other than that it looks like she wants to get this over with as soon as possible. Her lawyer, on the other hand…”

David agreed. “Sorry about that.” Kathryn’s lawyer was Albert Spencer, and oh boy did he not like Ray. Apparently Ray had done something big for Ashley and Sean a few months ago. David wasn’t sure of the exact nature of it, neither of the teens were keen on talking about it, and theories varied depending on who was telling it. The one constant factor was that it involved Mr. Gold, and how Ray had stepped up to be their lawyer, even settling the matter.

Ray has previously made it clear to David that it wasn’t as gallant as some people were suggesting, and it didn’t come without pains (though he didn’t elaborate on that), but the message was clear.

People in Storybrooke didn’t have to choose between Spencer or Gold anymore.

Gold still owned the town, his pawn shop, and had made some deals, so he wasn’t as hurt by the whole thing. Spencer, on the other hand, was just lawyer. A well-off lawyer, but one whose income was being threatened by a new competitor.

David said, “I heard that Kathryn’s father suggested him, and he’s not exactly my biggest fan either.”

Ray waved it away. “It was bound to happen eventually. Now come on, let’s focus on this.”

“Right, sorry.” David apologized.

Ray said, “Among other things that Kathryn wants to keep are this couch,” he showed David a picture of a couch, “along with the coffee table, the TV, and plates. There’s also this.” Ray showed David a photo of a golden rose.

“It’s a family heirloom.” David said. “She never liked it, but it belongs to her family. She should keep it.”

“That’s the thing.” Ray said. “She wants you to have it.”

David was shocked. “What?”

Ray said, “Kathryn came to when Mr. Spencer wasn’t around. I tried to tell her that we shouldn’t talk without her lawyer, but she said that she wanted to know if I could find a way to win that heirloom for you.”

David was now confused. “Why?”

Ray replied, “I don’t know why she wants you to have it, but I got the impression that she doesn’t want her father to have it either.”

David didn’t know what to make of this. “I mean she’s never liked it, but her father was definitely attached to it. And Kathryn loves her father.”

“I’m guessing that’s why she doesn’t want him to know about her chat with me.” Ray surmised.

“I wonder why she wants me to have it.” David said. One of the reasons David’s soon to be ex-father-in-law hated him so much was because this was Kathryn he was divorcing. From what he could recall, the two of them were quite close, especially considering that they had no other living relatives.

“Do you even want it?” Ray asked.

David shook his head.

Ray asked, “Are you sure? It could be worth a lot of money.”

“I’m sure.” David said.

Ray replied, “Alright then. Is there anything in the house that you want to keep?”

David shrugged. “To be honest, I wasn’t really attached to anything in there.” Nothing in the house ever felt like his, or like anything that he wanted.

“I’ve got to say, you’re going to make Kathryn quite happy.” Ray said. “At this rate, she’ll get to keep most of her stuff. Although I have a feeling Mr. Spencer is going to try to take you for everything you have.”

“Which is what?” David asked amused. “A room at Granny’s and the clothes I have there?”

"You'd be surprised.” Ray said. “I’m pretty sure that at some point Mr. Spencer was an actual shark. No, a parasite if you will. He’ll take you for all you’re worth just on principle. Then again, he doesn’t seem to really like you either.”

“I can’t tell you why.” David said. “I don’t remember ever doing anything to the man.

“Spencer hates everyone.” Ray said. “Come to think of it, he and Mr. Gold tend to hold a similar level of condescension and boredom.”

“One key difference is that Gold thinks he has a sense of humor.” David said.

“Yeah.” Ray said. Ray then looked at the clock on his desk. “We should try to get as much done as we can. I’m expecting someone here in about an hour.” Ray then caught sight of the calendar, and slowly a troubled look came over his face.

“What is it?” David asked, wondering what he was looking at.

“It’s nothing.” Ray said. “Let’s get back to work.”

And so they did, though while they mainly focused on the legalities of his divorce, David kept note of the fact that Ray seemed to thinking about something else. He was of course active and helpful in their business, like a professional, but it was like he was trying to bury something into the back of his head.

Once they were done with David’s end of things, David got ready to leave. Before that, David decided to try to figure out what was going on. “Alright, what’s up?” He asked Ray.

“Nothing.” Ray said, trying to play it off.

“Ray, come on.” David said gently. “I know something’s up, and I’m not going to let this go. You might as well tell me.”

“It’s nothing.” Ray said before sighing. “I mean, I’m just not excited about going to court. Things between me and Judge Herman aren’t exactly great.”

“Because of Sean?” David asked.

“Mhmm.” Ray said.

“Why don’t you just make a complaint against the judge?” David asked.

“I have other cases in his court.” Ray said. “Besides, there are only a few other judges, and most of them are his friends. If I make a complaint without solid evidence that he’s deliberately screwing with my cases, he’s going to make my life a living hell."

David sighed, knowing that itself was bad enough. Still he got the nagging feeling that something deeper was bothering Ray.

“What else?” David asked.

“What do you mean?” Ray asked in return.

“Something else is going on with you.” David told him. “I can tell.”

“I just...have other things on my mind.” Ray said. “After all, LJ’s birthday is a week away. I’ve got to plan for that.”

"That's great." David said. "How old will he be? Thirteen?"

Ray had a proud smile on his face. “Yep. I can barely believe it. It’s already been thirteen years.” Ray’s smile dampened, his eyes getting that look like he was being drawn into a sad memory before he shook his head, apparently banishing whatever thoughts plagued his mind. “Well, I’ve got some work to do.” He said as he guided David toward the door.

David got the distinct feeling that Ray wasn’t about to open up as to what was really bothering him.

David exited the apartment, and after saying their goodbyes Ray shut the door. David then made his way down the stairs, and something occurred to David. When Ray talked about LJ’s age, he seemed both proud and sad. David wondered if it had something to do with LJ’s mom. David had initially assumed that Ray was LJ’s dad until the man corrected him, and apparently David wasn’t the only one who made that mistake. Ray had told him that LJ’s parents skipped town around the time LJ was born, but he hadn’t said much else on the matter.

David didn’t want to push it in fear of potentially opening up some old wounds. He never talked about LJ’s parents, at least not to him.

David got to the bottom of the staircase when he saw a young woman crying. She was leaning against the wall, her eyes covered by one of her hands as her shoulders shook. However, only a couple of strangled sobs came out as she tried to make as little noise as possible. There wasn’t anyone else around, so she probably thought that she was alone.

At first, David seized up, uncertain as to what to do. Should he go and help her? Was she hurt? Did someone upset her?

David, unable to just leave her there, decided to approach her. “Are you okay?”

The young woman startled, and her watery brown eyes looked at him apprehensive before a look of embarrassment came over her features. “I’m sorry. I’m fine.” She said as she hastily wiped at her eyes.

"No offense, but you don't look like it." David said.

This just made the young woman look more apprehensive.

David took another step closer, and after seeing that she didn’t shy away from him, he said, “I’m David. What’s your name?”

The girl looked nervous. “I’m Dada.” She responded shyly.

David nodded. "Nice to meet you.”

Dada said, “I’m just...not having a good day.”

“Want to talk about it?” David asked as he stood in front of her.

"Do you always talk to strange girls who are bawling their eyes out?" Dada asked as she eyed him.

“Only when the moment calls for it.” David tried to joke, and he felt satisfied when it got a little smile out of her.

"Well, I don't need a knight in shining armor." Dada said.

“Maybe you need someone to listen to you.” David said. “Or would you prefer it if I leave?” If she wanted him to go, he would respect her wishes.

Dada paused before saying, “I just...this isn’t…” Dada sighed.

David went to lean against the wall next to her, waiting for her to speak.

She seemed at a loss for what to say. When she finally collected herself enough to speak coherently, she couldn’t look at David. “Today is...the anniversary of my parents’ deaths.”

Instantly, David was filled with pain on her behalf. “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah.” Dada said, sending him a side glance before looking away. “My parents were great people. Everyone liked them, respected them. I always thought that they couldn’t do anything wrong.” That was when Dada’s voice cracked. “That’s why...I just hated that I disappointed them so much.”

David felt horrible for the girl. “How could you disappoint them?” He asked.

“Because that’s what I did.” Dada said. “I was never good enough. I always screwed things up. I could never talk to people as well as they could.” Dada then gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I mean look at me. I barely have any actual friends, and I’m baring my soul to a stranger because I don’t want to burden any of the friends I still have.”

“Hey.” David said gently as she suppressed another sob. “It’s not a bad thing to talk about what you feel, even if it is to some random guy you met. You’re not a burden if you tell people what’s bothering you.”

Dada wiped at her tears. "It's just so hard. With them gone, I still feel like everything I do reflects badly on them.”

David thought on it, and quickly came up with a way that could get her to open up. “What do you do?”

Dada sniffled. “I’m an assistant at the library.”

“You still in school?” David asked.

Dada replied, “I take online courses, and I talk to my old high school counselor from time to time.”

“Well, if you ask me, I don’t think you’re failing.” David said. When Dada gave him an unsure look, he continued, “You’re living on your own, right?” When Dada nodded, he continued, “I’m a grown man who still pays for a place to stay, dealing with a divorce, and everything that comes with it. You’ve got a job, and you’re trying to better yourself through an education, and you’re younger than me. That’s not a insignificant.”

Dada sniffled.

"You seem to have your life together and a good head on your shoulders." David continued. “That doesn’t sound like a failure or a burden to me.”

Dada had a small, unsure smile on her face along with watery eyes. After a pause, she sincerely said, “Thanks.”

"Knight in shining armor." David said. "It's what I do."

This drew a laugh from Dada, and David in turn laughed along with her.

Wiping another tear from her eyes, Dada said, “Thanks. I needed that.”

“Anytime.” David said. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m staying at Granny’s Inn. If you can’t find me there, you should try the pet shelter. I volunteer, but I’m sure there are some fluffy animals you can use for amateur fuzz therapy.”

"Amateur fuzz therapy?" Dada asked curiously.

David smiled, “Well you could also call it ‘hugging an animal and maybe you’re feel better’, but amateur fuzz therapy seemed less wordy.”

Dada laughed again. “That’s okay. My boss adopted a dog and he brings her over all the time.”

“Oh right.” David said. “Killian’s got Lady.”

“You know Killian?” Dada asked.

“Yep.” David said. "Small town, you know."

“And yet it feels like I barely know anyone here.” Dada said. “Then again, I don’t get out much.”

David shrugged.

“Thanks again.” Dada said.

“No problem.” David said. “Do you want to talk some more?”

“I think I’m good.” Dada told him. “I just need some alone time right now.”

“Alright.” David said as he pushed himself off the wall. “Like I said, if you need to talk-”

“I know where to find you.” Dada assured him.

“See you around.” David said, and after Dada gave him a goodbye, David left the apartment building.

* * *

_January 6, 2012_

Nancy sighed as she perused the ‘Help Wanted’ section of _The Daily Mirror_. She had tried to get a job as a maid somewhere else, but like she suspected, no one would take her. They said that she wasn’t what they were looking for, but from the slight look of fear on their faces, Nancy knew that they didn’t want to risk incurring Regina’s wrath.

Nancy wondered what Regina had told them. Did she claim that she was a thief, or a danger to them somehow? If so, then Nancy would fight that tooth-and-nail. As it was, their explanation of her ‘not meeting their standards’ wasn’t something she could do much against.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many other jobs open. She’d heard that the salon had an opening, but then she’d learned that someone had already filled it. She had to find a job, and fast. Her decision to quit had been impulsive, but even if Regina was inclined to take her back, Nancy wouldn’t accept it. Her pay would be reduced to the bare minimum if Regina had her way, and with the constant abuse, it just wouldn’t be worth it.

Nancy had taken a lot of shit from Regina, but docking her wages on a whim was just too much.

That’s when Ruby appeared with her order. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Nancy said, glancing at her food and drink before returning her stare to the ads.

“You know, if you stare at that paper any harder, you’re going to burn a hole into it.” Ruby said. It was a little teasing, but Nancy saw that Ruby did seem interested in what was going on with her.

“Hopefully I don’t burn any potential job offers.” Nancy replied.

“Still no luck?” Ruby asked with a sympathetic face.

Nancy shook her head as she set down the newspaper. “Nope. So far, nothing’s worked out.”

Ruby said, “You know we still have that job offer for a waitress open.”

Nancy furrowed her brows in confusion. “I thought someone already took that job.”

“Nope.” Ruby said, emphasizing the _p_ with a pop. “She decided to take a job at some restaurant in another part of town.”

Nancy’s heart filled with hope, though she remained cautious. “Are you sure? Is Mrs. Lucas okay with you offering that?”

“Offering what?” Mrs. Lucas asked as she came into view.

“I think that it would be a good idea if Nancy became our new waitress.” Ruby said, though her tone was very clear that _she_ thought it was a good idea, and Mrs. Lucas should too.

Mrs. Lucas paused before asking Nancy, “Do you have a criminal record?”

Ruby gave an incredulous “Seriously?”

Mrs. Lucas silenced her with a look before turning to Nancy with that piercing stare.

“No, I do not.” Nancy told her.

“Any references?” Mrs. Lucas asked.

“Not exactly.” Nancy said. “I am a hard worker and I will do anything you say.”

“After working for Mayor Mills for so long, I would think so.” Mrs. Lucas said kindly. “You know you’ve lasted a lot longer than other people who have worked for her.”

Nancy felt that hope keep hold of her, but still something held her back. “So...can I have the job?”

“We’ll see.” Mrs. Lucas said sternly. “We’ll give you a trial period, see how you do, and if you impress me, you’ve got yourself a job.”

Nancy couldn’t help the relieved smile from appearing on her face. “Thank you so much. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“Prove it.” Mrs. Lucas said, with a smile that somehow perfectly toned the line between warm and warning, before walking to the back.

Once she was out of earshot, Ruby told Nancy, “She can be a crabby old woman sometimes, but deep, down she’s got a heart.”

“Yeah.” Nancy gave a choked laugh. _Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry in the middle of a diner you hope to work in._

Ruby handed her a new, unused napkin before saying, “Dig in.” Ruby then left to attend to another customer.

Nancy then noticed that Alan was watching, and from the smile on his face, Alan had heard the entire exchange.

Nancy smiled back. Things may be looking up after all.

* * *

_January 7, 2012_

“What do you guys know about August?” Henry asked his friends as they walked towards the hospital.

“Who?” Ava asked with a tilt of her head.  

“The stranger.” Henry said. “The first visitor in town, well, ever.”

Most of them just shook their heads as they continued to do their work, obviously having no idea of who Henry was talking about.

“Wait, that was the weird guy you were talking to, right?” LJ asked.

“Yeah.” Henry said.

“You know, you’ve never said what you were talking about.” Nick said.

“I was interrogating him.” Henry said.

“See, you’ve said that already.” LJ said with a displeased look on his face. “But you’ve barely talked about what you interrogated him about, or why.”

“And I told you I barely got anything out of him.” Henry replied.

“Again, you haven’t said why.” Paige pointed out. “Have you ever seen him before?”

Henry sighed. “No, and he’s being shifty about where he’s come from.”

“Probably because a random kid is asking him about his life story.” Ava said.

They arrived at the hospital, and the five of them began arguing the merits and detriments - well, Henry argued the merits while the others argued the detriments - of talking to strangers all the way up the elevator to the children’s ward.

They were still arguing about it, albeit in softer tones, when they got to the front desk.

“We’re here to see Declan Holtzer.” Henry said to the nurse.

“I’m sorry, but Declan’s not on this level.” The nurse told them, having recognized them from the many times they visited Declan.

“Where is he?” LJ asked.

“He’s visiting Sheriff Graham.” The nurse told them.

“Ah, thank you.” Henry told her, with the others adding their thanks.

They then took the elevator to the level Graham was on, and they began filing out. Henry visited Graham previously, so he remembered where the room was.

Once they got there, they found Declan sitting on the bed with Graham. His egg - or rather Dummy’s egg - resting on his lap as well, cradled between Declan’s body and the book he was reading from.

Declan read, _“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door…You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”_

“We should watch the movies when we get out of here.” Graham said.

“I guess.” Declan shrugged. “Are they as good as the books?”

“You read the books, not me.” Graham said.

“I’ve only read this one, but I did it twice.” Declan said as he held it up to Graham’s view. “It’s why I’m reading it to you now. You need an education.”

“Hi.” Nick said with a wave.

Graham and Declan’s heads snapped in their direction.

“Hi.” Declan said surprised. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to visit you.” Nick said as they all piled into the room. “You weren’t in the children’s ward, so the nurse told us you were visiting Graham, so we came here.”

“How are you feeling, Graham?” Henry asked.

“Much better.” Graham assured him.

Declan smiled in excitement. “Yeah, the doctor said that he should be out of the hospital in like a week. Same time as me.”

“Really?” LJ asked. “That’s great.”

“Declan, maybe you should go back to the children’s ward so you can play.” Graham suggested. At Declan’s somewhat disappointment look, Graham gave him an encouraging smile. “I’ll be fine. Have fun. We can continue after you’re done.”

Declan paused before nodding. “Okay.” He then turned to the others and carefully got off the bed, putting on some slippers that were there. He then grabbed his book and egg, and did his best to wave at Graham with the hand holding his book. “See you later, Graham.”

Graham waved back, and then before the kids left the room. It was only when the elevator doors closed around them that Declan looked at page with a confused look, and bluntly asked, “Who are you?”

LJ slapped his forehead.

Everyone introduced Paige, who held up a ‘Get Well Soon’ card she made for Declan, who became shy at the gift. Once the elevator doors opened again at the children’s ward, they made their way to the playroom, where they sat at one of the tables.

“How did school go?” Declan asked. “Was it boring?”

“Yeeeep.” Ava said as everyone else concurred. “The teacher did ask us if we could give you the lesson plan and homework until you get back.”

“And like heroes you said no?” Declan asked hopefully. When Ava and Nick silently shook her heads, he sighed. “It was nice to dream.”

Henry said in an upbeat voice, “But at least you’ll get out of here soon, and then you get to suffer with the rest of us.”

Declan gave him a stink eye, and Henry did his best not to laugh at his friend’s expense.

And then LJ, because he was a fun ruiner, told Declan about Henry’s talk with August in...somewhat unflattering terms.

“You just went up and talked to some random guy and hoped for the best?” Declan asked Henry incredulously.

“I talked to you guys and you used to be strangers.” Henry argued.

“We’re _kids_ , not creepy grown ass men.” Declan retorted.

“He’s not creepy.” Henry offered weakly. “He’s mysterious.”

Now all of them were giving him unimpressed looks.

“So…” Henry trailed off. “LJ’s birthday is in a few days.”

"Oh yeah, what are we doing?" Nick asked LJ, and the others turned to look at LJ as well.

LJ sighed. “It’s on a Wednesday, so we can’t stay up. Ray said that we can either have a party on Wednesday after school, or we can have a sleepover on Saturday, if your parents say yes that is.”

“We can ask our dad.” Ava said as Nick nodded.

“I don’t think my parents will say no.” Paige told him.

“I’m stuck here.” Declan said as Nick patted him back.

“I can sneak out.” Henry said. At the surprised look on Paige’s face, Henry amended, “I mean I can ask."

“Smooth.” LJ deadpanned.

"Why would you need to sneak out?" Paige asked.

Declan started, “His mom’s a bi-”

LJ quickly interrupted, “A big, _not_ fan of my uncle.”

“Smooth.” Henry shot back with a smirk, to which LJ gave him an unimpressed look.

“Why not?” Paige asked.

“She doesn’t like anyone.” Nick said.

“Nick.” Ava hissed.

“It’s true.” Nick said. “She called us miscreants and she didn’t even know us.”

“To be fair, you two did try to rob the pharmacy.” Declan said.

“What?” Paige asked in confusion, though she was unheard by everyone, save Henry.

“And who robbed it before us?” Ava shot back, sending Declan a significant look.

“What?” Paige asked again as her eyes went back and forth between the twins and Declan.

"It was survival." Declan defended, though he had a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“I’m so confused.” Paige whispered to herself, and Henry patted her back.

“Aaaaanyways.” LJ drew out. “If you can get your parents permission, we can have a sleepover.” LJ then turned to Declan. “I can visit you for a bit so we can hang out and stuff.”

"Cool." Declan said. “And don’t watch the _Lord of the Rings_ movies before I do. We’re all going to watch those movies when I break out of here.”

“You mean when the hospital finally lets you out.” Ava corrected.

“Whatever comes first.” Declan shrugged.

“Should we bring our own sleeping bags?” Paige asked.

“Probably.” LJ said. “We’re gonna move stuff around to make room for everyone.”

"What if we don't have a sleeping bag?" Henry asked.

LJ shrugged. “There’s always the couch. Maybe we can share my bed. I think it’s big enough for two people.”

That satisfied Henry. Talk then evolved into what movie they should watch from the selection that LJ said he had at his house. Things between Ava and Nick became heated as they each argued the merits of the movie of their choosing, and the rest of the group watched them argue back and forth like it was a tennis match.

With everyone distracted, Declan noticed that Henry was too quiet. Declan silently motioned for Henry to go by the corner of the room next to the bookshelf. They did so, and no one noticed them moving away from the group.

Once in the corner, Declan said, “Who is this August guy, really?”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked.

“Is he supposed to be someone from your book?” Declan asked. “I didn’t ask before because Ava, Nick, and Paige were there, and I didn’t know if they knew about your curse thing.”

“They don’t know.” Henry said. “And I don’t know who August is supposed to be.”

“So he’s just some random guy after all?” Declan asked.

“That’s just it, I don’t think he is.” Henry said before explaining more of the conversation he had with August, and about his suspicions about August being the first stranger to ever visit Storybrooke.

“That’s not much to go on.” Declan said skeptically.

Henry sighed. “Think about it. When was the last time a stranger came to town?”

Declan opened his mouth to answer, but he closed it as he really thought on it. Henry knew that Declan wouldn’t remember anything. No one else did, which means that for as strong as the curse was, it couldn’t account for everything. His mom probably never thought that anyone besides the Savior would ever come to Storybrooke.

Declan finally shrugged. "I don't know. Well, other than your cool mom."

Henry couldn’t help but smile. “Why do you always call her my ‘cool mom’?”

“Because she is.” Declan says. “I mean, she’s not scared of anyone, not even your evil mom.”

Henry laughed a little at that, because it was very true.

Declan smiled at Henry’s laugh before his features became more serious. “Seriously though, be careful. We don’t know who this guy is.”

“You worried that he could be a villain?” Henry asked.

“I’m worried that he could be some creepy guy that’ll ask you to look for his puppy, then invite you into his van for some candy.” Declan replied.

Henry rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious.” Declan said, and Henry was surprised to see that Declan really was. “You have no idea what this guy can do. Casting a curse isn’t the worst thing that an adult can do to you.”

Henry knew that was true. Declan didn’t believe in the curse, so he was thinking in terms of the physical, of ways adults could hurt you in this world. Getting killed was an option, but it wasn’t limited to that. It wasn’t just his mom trying to make Henry think that he was crazy. There could be people like Declan’s parents who just didn’t care, and whose lack of care could have horrible consequences.

It made Henry feel ill to remember just why Declan was in the hospital and that as his friend, there hadn't been more Henry could've done to help him.

Declan asked, “Remember the second time we met, when we went down into the mines? I went in there because I didn’t want to be lonely, but I also didn’t want you to get hurt. I have a small list of people I can give a shit about, and you’re one of them.” Declan then seemed to get a little emotional. “If anything happened to you, I’d lose my fucking my mind, alright?”

Henry was touched by Declan's honesty. “I promise I’ll be careful.” He told him. At Declan’s uncertain look, Henry reaffirmed, “I promise.”

Declan’s eyes searched his face before he nodded, satisfied with his answer. “Just letting you know in advance, if you think that guy is a villain, just say the word and I’ll fuck up his motorcycle.”

The corner of Henry’s mouth quirked. “Don’t you think you should be staying away from vandalism?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Declan joked.

“Hey.” Ava said, and they turned their heads in that direction, noticing that everyone was watching them. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Vandalism.” Declan said as he and Henry rejoined the group.

“I’m learning a lot more about you guys than I thought I would.” Paige muttered.

"We're regular hoodlums." Ava smiled teasingly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” LJ said in a mockingly haughty tone of voice. “I am a respectable citizen of this town.”

There was a single second of silence before everyone, sans Paige, immediately began to voice their objections. All in good humor of course.

Even as Henry became silent once more, he watched as his group of friends began to joke with one another so loudly that a nurse came by to tell them to keep it down. Henry couldn’t help but smile once more, and suddenly he tried very hard to keep the emotions that welled up inside him from spilling out.

All his life, he thought there was something wrong with him. He thought that there was something about him that made it impossible to have friends. After all, why else would all of his playmates forget and ignore him. When he learned about the curse, he knew that they had a reason to forget him, but that didn’t stop him from fearing that there was still something deeply wrong with him. After all, if the woman who called herself his mother could only fake her love for him, didn’t that mean that he was unloveable?

Emma came along, and she showed him that at least one person truly loved him. She had given him up for his best chance, and she was trying to help him break the spell. There were others of course, but in the beginning, there was a part of Henry that feared that it was just the curse speaking for them, that they were playing a part. That in reality they didn’t love Henry.

Now, however, he had real friends, and he knew that people cared about him. After all, for the first time in his life he was surrounded by kids his own age that didn’t forget him or the times they shared. They were good people, and they cared about him.

That was why Henry couldn’t give up on the curse either. They didn’t deserve to live like this, to be under the control of his mother. He had to help save them somehow.

Noticing Declan looking at him worriedly again, Henry gave him a reassuring smile.

He was going to save them, and if they still liked him after the curse was broken, he would never let them go.

* * *

_January 8, 2012_

Dada tried not to bounce on her feet. She and Jefferson were just going to spend some time at the part. It wasn’t a big deal.

_Well, if you two connect, and he likes you back, I can't see the problem._

Ruby’s words had been on her mind for a while, and she just couldn’t seem to get them out of her head.

Maybe she did- Okay, she did like Jefferson, and probably more than friends should, but that’s all they were. Jefferson was still hurting over his wife’s death, even though she had died years ago, so even if she wanted to (she did), it might not be the right time.

Besides, what if she asked him and he went back to being more of a recluse?

 _What if you ask him and he says yes,_ a voice in her head prompted.  

Yeah, what if.

Besides, they were just friends, and she could deal with that.

Mhmm, yep, definitely.

Just as Dada sighed, she heard someone call out her name. Eagerly, she turned to see if it was Jefferson, but instead it was-

“August?” Dada responded as she watched the man approach her. “Uh, hi.”

“Hi yourself.” August said with a friendly smile as he approached her, stopping when he was about three feet away from her. “What’re you doing here?”

“I’m just waiting for someone.” Dada told him. “And you?”

“Just walking around.” He said with a shrug. “I swear, this town seems bigger than I thought it was. How many people live here?”

Dada tried to think of a number, but nothing came to mind. Instead she said, “Not sure really. I should probably tell you that I don’t normally get out much, so I wouldn’t know everyone here.”

August seemed disappointed by that before covering it up with a small smile. “So, who’re you meeting up with?”

“A friend.” Dada told him before looking around, hoping to see Jefferson there. When she found that it was still just her and August, she felt disappointed. “He’s just running a little late.” Then, to be polite, and because she couldn’t stand the silence, she asked, “What about you? Any plans tonight?”

“Ah, no.” August replied. “I’m more of a spur of the moment kind of guy. Going where the wind takes me, you know?”

 _Not really_ , Dada thought. She preferred making plans ahead of time. I mean, spur of the moment sounded fun, but what if those plans fell through and- okay, calm down now. No need to get worked up over a lack of plans.

Dada asked, “So, where have the winds taken you before?”

“Oh, all over.” August said. “I’ve been across the country. I’ve been to Peru. I even managed to stop over in Hungary once.”

Intrigued, Dada asked, “Really?”

"Yeah, the food there's great if you're big on meat and carbs." August told her with a slightly embarrassed look. “I may have had to burn off a lot of weight on a two-week long trek.” Then, in a mock world-weary voice, August shook his head and said, “That stuffed cabbage just snuck up on me.”

Dada bit her lip to suppress a smile.

August smiled at her. “Come on, that was a little funny.”

Dada paused before admitting with a little laugh, “Okay yeah, it was a little funny.” Then, because she was curious as to what stuffed cabbage was, and about the world outside of Storybrooke, she curiously asked, “Where else have you been?”

August seemed to relax, and said, “Oh boy. Where do I start?”

* * *

 

Jefferson couldn’t help but smile. He was on his way to meet up with Dada to just walk around the park, and then get something to eat. In the beginning, when the curse had started to weaken, Jefferson didn’t believe there was any reason to go out into town. The fear of running into Grace paralyzed him. Now, however, he felt _excited_ to go out if Dada was with him.

He never imagined that he’d like her as much as he would. She understood when he felt too anxious to talk, or when he just needed his space, and vice versa. At the same time, it felt like some of the pain he felt would dissipate whenever he was around her. All she would have to do was smile, and he would feel a weight lift off his heart.

They were just friends though. Yes, just friends. After all, he knew _Dada_ , but not who she really was. What if the person she was underneath the curse unimpressed with him? What if she was someone who wouldn’t want anything to do with a failure of a father who was stupid enough to trust in the Evil Queen’s promise?

Jefferson shook his head, trying to force away his fears of what would happen when the curse broke. Tonight was a night with just him and Dada, and as much as she made him smile, he wanted to make her smile too. She always had a weight on her own shoulders, and he would do anything to lift it.

He spotted Dada, and he had begun to smile...until he saw that she was with someone else. Specifically, she was talking and smiling with the stranger named August. Jefferson didn’t have a clue as to who August really was, but he knew that he wasn’t just some random motorist who drifted into town. He had seen him walking around down, snooping around for something.

Jefferson didn’t trust the man, and furthermore, he didn’t know if he liked the way that August was smiling at Dada.

Finally, Dada noticed him, and her smile became wider as she waved at him. “Hey Jefferson!”

Jefferson waved back, trying to smile even as he eyed August.

Once Jefferson was standing next to Dada, she said, “About time you got here.”

“Sorry about that.” Jefferson said as he glanced at August, who looked at him curiously. “I got caught up with something.”

“That’s fine.” Dada said. Then, she seemed to remember that August was there, and she quickly added, “Oh. Jefferson this is August. August, Jefferson.”

August held a hand out with a charming smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Jefferson lied as he shook August’s hand.

Once they released their hands, August looked at Dada and said, “Well, I won’t keep you two any longer. Have a good night.”

“You too.” Dada said as she waved at August as the man walked away. Dada then looked at Jefferson and asked, “So, wanna go now?”

Jefferson nodded. “Sure.”

Dada’s smile disappeared as a concerned look came over her face. “You okay?”

Knowing that his suspicions about August might be showing through, Jefferson made himself smile and said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?” She asked him.

“Now I am.” Jefferson said as he thought, _Because you’re here_. Somewhat surprised by the thought, Jefferson nodded his head in the direction of the park. “Let’s go.” He told her with an easier smile.

Still looking a little worried, Dada gave him a soft little smile before they began walking.

The two of them began talking about their day, and Jefferson allowed himself to enjoy the time they now had, pushing August to the back of his mind.

* * *

 

Emma checked her makeup for maybe the fourth time. _Calm down_ , she told herself. _You’re just spending a few hours alone with him. It’s not like you haven’t been alone with him before._

That didn’t make Emma any less nervous. She and Killian had decided to give a date a shot, though they both knew that there was a chance that Emma could be called away just in case someone called the station, or her work phone. With Graham still in the hospital - though thankfully making a recovery - it was just her.

“Should we even be doing this?” Emma asked Mary Margaret, who was helping Emma with her hair. “I mean I’m the acting sheriff until Graham comes back. Shouldn’t I be at the station?”

“You could always deputize someone, or get more help.” Mary Margaret suggested as she finished off Emma’s hair. Mary Margaret placed her hands on Emma’s shoulders. “Emma, relax. You deserve this.”

“I don’t know.” Emma sighed. “What if this doesn’t work out? Killian’s one of my closest friends. I don’t want to lose that.”

Mary Margaret tried to reassure her. “This could work out. Just...take it a step at a time.”

There was a pause as Emma absorbed her roommate’s words. She was right. She just needed to take it slowly. Killian promised after all.

 _Men have made you promises before,_ A voice in her mind said. _Many people have promised to love you, to not leave you, to not hurt you. Look how well that turned out._

Trying to calm herself down and to avoid dwelling on those thoughts, Emma asked Mary Margaret, “You excited about dog-sitting duty?”

Mary Margaret replied, “Oh yes, as long as you don’t mind some mild shedding.”

“I’m fine with it I guess.” Emma said. “Let’s just hope that Lady doesn’t go to the bathroom on the rug. Or anywhere.”

“She’s got a mat she’s learning to use.” Mary Margaret told her optimistically.

There was a knock on the door, and Emma’s heart raced. He was here already?

Mary Margaret went to answer the door, but when she opened it there was a surprise guest.

“Henry.” Mary Margaret said as the boy stood at the door. “Hi, come in.”

Henry entered with a hello as he hung his coat.

“Henry?” Emma asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I just thought we could hang out.” Henry said.

That’s when it hit Emma that she forgot about Henry. Even though they hadn’t made plans, he was still her son and she should’ve factored him in when it came to dating. Emma said, “Henry, I’m-”

“Why are you all dressed up?” Henry asked as he walked closer to her. “You look nice.”

“Thanks.” Emma said.

“Where are you going?” Henry asked.

“Out.” Emma said a little awkwardly. “With Killian.”

Whatever reaction Emma thought he would have, a big smile appearing on Henry’s face wasn’t one of them. Neither was his response of “That’s great."

“It is?” Emma asked in surprise, mostly at how well Henry was taking this. Not that she expected him to take this badly. After all, he’d known Killian longer than her, and Henry really liked him. She just didn’t expect him to seem this happy about it.

“Yeah.” Henry said. “Killian’s the best.”

“So it won’t be weird for you?” Emma asked.

Henry shook his head. “Definitely not. Where are you guys going?”

There was a knock at the door. Emma glanced at the clock, and knew that Killian was here.

“I’ll get it.” Mary Margaret said as she opened the door.

There was Killian, standing there looking _good_. Well, he always looked good, but somehow in somewhat nicer clothing it just accentuated it-

 _Calm, Emma, calm_ , she told herself.

“Killian, come in.” Mary Margaret said before she looked down and said, “Hi Lady.”

Lady walked into the loft, and when she spotted Emma, she immediately went forward trying to get to her.

“Hi Lady.” Emma sent, bending down to pet the dog.

“I’ve been overshadowed by a pup.” Killian pouted.

“She _is_ cuter than you.” Henry teased.

“Hey!” Killian protested, though by the look on his face he clearly didn’t take offense. Well, not _too_ much offense.

Emma stood up, and Killian’s eyes went up and down her body.

Emma’s heartbeat picked up.

"You look beautiful, Emma." Killian said.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Emma quipped.

“I’ve got the dog.” Henry said, taking the leash from Killian before he began to shoo out both Emma and Killian. “Have fun.”

Killian chuckled at Henry's enthusiasm. “Easy, we’re on our way.”

“My purse.” Emma said, and Mary Margaret quickly handed it to her.

"Go now, have fun." Mary Margaret was the one shooing them out now. The door almost hit them as Mary Margaret shut it behind them.

"Wow, they really want us out of their hair." Emma said.

"You'd think they were going on this date." Killian chuckled. "Though, I'm really glad that they're not."

Emma did not want to imagine the idea of Henry and Mary Margaret (and Lady) watching over them as they went on their date. Banishing the thought from her mind, Emma asked, “You ready to go.”

“Oh yes.” Killian said, and his voice dipped just low enough that it made Emma shiver a little.

“Let’s get going then.” Emma said, and the two walked off together. "So where are we going?"

"Ah, that's a surprise." Killian grinned.

“A good surprise, I hope.” Emma said as they walked down the street.

Killian gave her a false affronted look. “You wound me, Swan. I’ll have you know that I give great surprises.”

Emma laughed at his expression. She then said in a purposefully haughty tone, “I guess I can give you a chance to prove yourself.”

Killian smiled at her mischievously. “Is that a challenge?”

“What do you think?” Emma teased.

Killian licked his lips. "I think I like a challenge."

Emma wanted to kiss him right then and there. So, she did. Emma surprised him by grabbing his shoulder, then pulling him in for a kiss, one that Killian quickly melted into. Emma didn’t really know what came over her. She didn’t remember being this quick in affection, to want to kiss someone this much. Not since-

Emma pulled back, trying not to think about him.

Killian grinned again. "I could get used to this."

Emma didn’t respond, trying not to think about him, trying to avoid the feeling of that wound he left in her heart opening up again.

Killian looked concerned. “Swan, what is it?”

Emma quickly put up a mask, smiled and said, “Nothing. Just lost in thought.” She then took a step back and said, “Come on. Aren’t you going to show me your surprise?”

Killian looked like he wanted to talk about it, but thankfully he let the matter go. Instead, the two of them began walking once again.

Emma wanted to reassure him, but she didn't have the words, so she took his hand in hers instead. Hand holding was a thing that people did on dates, right?

Killian certainly seemed to agree with it, and he even wove their fingers together.  

That only made Emma's heartbeat skip, as her wanting him was at war with her fear of how badly things could turn out. Could she really do this? Could she take that chance? Oh god, was she making a huge mistake?

Emma tried to push those fears away as they walked towards the restaurants in town, and soon they entered an Italian place called “Tony’s”.

"Italian." Emma smiled. "Always a good first date choice."

“As you can see, my surprise is indeed good.” Killian said smugly.

Emma gave him a coy look. "We shall see."

The two of them entered the restaurant, and thanks to Killian having made a reservation, the two were seated. Well, Killian pulled out her chair, waiting for her to sit down before taking a seat himself.

As they waited for their food to come, they talked about the usual things. How was work, the local gossip, weekend plans. It was nice and normal.

It eased Emma’s nervousness. It was Killian that she was out with after all. Killian who was her friend and who cared about her.

The food was really good too, and Emma tried really hard not to get anything on her clothes. Normally she wouldn’t really care unless it risked a permanent stain, as she usually wore things that by design could be replaced. Technically speaking the clothes she was wearing right now could be replaced, but a strong part of her really didn’t want to mess it up in front of Killian.

After they were finished eating, they spent more time talking before paying for their meal, and leaving the restaurant soon afterward.

“Ah.” Emma sighed out, trying to keep her stomach in. “ _That_ was a good meal.”

“Care for some Rocky Road?” Killian asked. “The ice cream parlor might still be open.”

“Ugh, I don’t know.” Emma said in a disappointed tone. “I’m not sure if there’s any more room in my stomach.” Emma then shivered when the cold air hit her face. “Besides, now might not be a good time to go out for ice cream.”

Killian gave her an appalled look that was ruined when a grin threatened to appear on his face. “I’m surprised, Swan. I’d never peg you for a woman who let some pesky weather get in the way of ice cream.”

Emma gave him a look and said, "Not all of us can be hot like you."

Killian smirked, and that’s when Emma realized what she said.

She corrected herself. "I mean run hot like you." She had meant it as a reference to what Killian had said before about not feeling the cold, but the damage was already done.

“No, no. Go on.” Killian said smugly. “Tell me what you really think.”

Emma gave him a light punch on the arm for that.

Killian just laughed at that. The two of them did end up on a walk, though it was just one that went around the block. At the very least, it helped relieve Emma of some of the pressure that the food built up in her stomach.

They decided to walk back to the loft together, and as they did so, Emma was struck with disappointment that their date was coming to an end. That was quickly followed by surprise, because she had never been on a date that she wanted to continue. She didn’t count the people she tracked for bail, as that had just been part of the job.

There had been...well, there had been Neal, but most of their ‘dates’ consisted of going to the nearest restaurant to get a bite to eat because they were hungry, nothing that was really special. Most of the time it would end in their motel room where they would-

Emma banished the thought from her mind. Neal was her past, and like everything else in her past, she didn’t want to deal with it.

Killian was talking about something. She probably needed to listen.

“They usually arrive at the library to visit Lady before school.” Killian told her. “Sometimes they wait until we’re nearly closed to come see her, but it’s as if they’re actively trying not to talk to other children.”

“You think so?” Emma asked, still trying to figure out who he’s talking about.

“I do.” Killian said. “Mai doesn’t seem to particularly care, since Phoebe and Lady take up most of her attention, but Phoebe seems...I don’t know. She just seems a little more apprehensive, though I can’t get her to say why.”

 _Ah._ Emma thought. _The two girls who were the main reasons Killian got Lady._

"Have you tried talking to her?" Emma asked.

Killian nodded. “Not that it did me much good. I asked Sister Astrid about it, since she almost always accompanies them. She said that Phoebe’s been like this since her mother passed. Her circle of friends seems to consist mainly of Mai, Sister Astrid, Lady, and apparently me.”

Emma empathized with that, though when she was Phoebe's age, her circle of friends was non-existent. By that point, Emma had been moved around and separated from so many potential friends that it seemed safer not to try at all.

“Maybe she’s trying to protect herself.” Emma said to Killian.

“Maybe.” Killian conceded as he looked at Emma. “But it’s not good for her to stay that isolated. She needs friends her age, people she can trust. You can’t stay alone forever.”

The way Killian said that, it was clear he was mainly talking about Phoebe. The way he looked at her though, Emma thought he was also speaking directly to her.

It was practically as though he knew her thoughts. How could he do this? How could he just see right through her walls like they weren’t even there? Emma had spent a lifetime trying to shield herself, and he just walked into her life and saw into her heart and mind like it was nothing.

It scared her. It worried Emma that he could do such a thing with ease, and she feared what could happen if what they had turned sour, and he would have the power to hurt her.

 _He wouldn’t do that?_ , a voice argued in her mind.

 _You thought the same of Neal,_ another countered.

"Swan, are you with me?" Killian asked concernedly.

Emma forced herself to focus on what was happening. “Yep.” She said hurriedly before looking around, and spotting the loft not far up ahead. “We’re almost there.”

“That we are.” Killian said distantly. From the look on his face, he didn’t seem to want for this date to end either. Still, he turned to her with a smile on his face. “I had a good time.”

“Me too.” Emma said without thinking, and bit of panic started to set in. She had just gone over how Killian seeing through her walls worried her, and now she was admitting that she had a good time? Okay, she did, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that she was allowing herself to be drawn in, to let him see that her feelings were genuine.

Letting him in was dangerous for her heart.

They were almost to the loft.

She risked a glance at Killian and saw that he was frowning. She wasn't sure if it was because their date was ending or because he sensed her mood change.

They continued talking as they entered the building, and then took the stairs up to the loft she shared with Mary Margaret. The elevator worked, but Emma only used it when she was really tired or had a lot of stuff to carry. Tonight though, she just wanted to prolong the time she had with Killian before the night ended.

When they finally arrived at the door of the loft, Killian facing her but seemingly unsure of what to say, Emma did the first thing that came to mind.

She leaned forward and kissed him.

Emma placed a hand on Killian’s chest as her lips moved against his. Killian’s arms drew her closer, and Emma moved her arms to wrap themselves around his neck. One of her hands went to the back of his head, and Emma found that she really enjoyed the feeling of her fingers running themselves through his hair.

Killian confused her. His ability to see through her walls scared her, but she still wanted him. Judging by the way he was throwing himself into the kiss, he wanted her too.

It wasn’t something that she was used to, being wanted by someone. Sure there had been people that had been interested in a good time. Sometimes Emma gave in, just to scratch an itch. In that case, she never called them again, which they seemed to be fine with.

But as she pulled back from the kiss to breathe, her eyes still closed, she felt Killian rest his forehead against hers. Emma opened her eyes, and found that Killian was giving her a soft smile, and Emma found herself smiling back.

For however worried she was that Killian could just read her like an open book, there was a part of Emma that just wanted to take a leap of faith. Her past experience taught her differently, but maybe if she played it safe, remained cautious, maybe they could…

“What’s on your mind, Swan?” Killian asked.

“Just...that I had a good time.” Emma said before taking a step back, their arms releasing their hold on each other. “I really did.”

“I’m glad.” Killian said with a happy look on his face. “So glad in fact, I think we should do this again.”

“Are you asking me to go on another date with you?” Emma asked.

“I’m certainly in favor of it.” Killian smirked, though there was a hint of nervousness in it.

Emma said teasing voice, “Well I have a busy schedule, but I can see if I can squeeze you in.”

“If you please.” Killian said in an equally teasing voice. The nervousness, though lessened, remained.

There was a familiar yip from inside the loft.

“Come on.” Emma said as she took the keys from her purse. “I think there’s someone inside who wants to see you again.”

No sooner did Emma unlock the door and open it did Lady come bouncing it, evading Mary Margaret’s attempts to catch her. Lady went straight to Killian, pawing at his shoes and barking.

“Hello you.” Killian said as he bent down to pet Lady, who absorbed every bit of attention she could get. Killian then looked at Mary Margaret and asked, “How did she behave?”

Mary Margaret replied, “She tried to chew on a sock I dropped on the floor, but other than that she behaved perfectly. Henry took up most of her attention.”

“Is Henry still here?” Emma asked.

“No.” Mary Margaret told her. “It got pretty late so I had to take him home. He wanted me to tell you that he hoped you had a really great time.”

“Thank you for watching her.” Killian said. “I’ll just grab her things then.”

“Oh, yes, come in.” Mary Margaret said as she opened the door wider, allowing both Emma and Killian into the apartment, and Lady followed Killian faithfully inside.

Between the three of them, and the fact that Lady didn’t leave much of a mess, it didn’t take long before Killian had Lady’s things in hand. Mary Margaret quickly went to another room, but Emma got the distinct feeling that Mary Margaret was still watching them.

“So, see you tomorrow?” Emma asked.

“Well, I have a bit of a tight schedule, but I think I can squeeze you in.” Killian teased, Lady’s leash in his hand and a bag with her things slung over his shoulder.

A gentle punch to the shoulder caused him to laugh, and it brought out a smile in Emma.

“Goodnight.” Killian said.

“Goodnight.” Emma told him, and she watched as Killian walked out of the apartment, looking back one last time before walking away with Lady.

Emma shut the door, a smile still on her face. When she turned back around, however, she found Mary Margaret standing there with an expectant smile on her face.

“So...how did it go?” She asked eagerly.

Emma sighed and shook her head at her roommate. From the look on Mary Margaret’s face, Emma wasn’t going to get out of this. She might as well make the best out of this.

“I’ll tell you over hot cocoa?” Emma offered.

“With cinnamon? On it.” Mary Margaret said as she immediately went to the kitchen to start preparing it, though she immediately began to pepper Emma with questions about the date.

Emma rolled her eyes but nonetheless went into the kitchen, and began to oblige her curious roommate. Tonight had been a good night. No sudden calls from the station. No one in danger. And most of all, she genuinely wanted to go on another date with Killian.

And if she were honest with herself, she did kind of want to talk it over with Mary Margaret. It felt nice talking about it with her.

As for Killian, she just needed to continue being cautious. She couldn’t get her hopes up too high. What they had right now felt good, and she didn’t want to ruin it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! It is done! And CS went on a date so that’s a double dose of “YES!”
> 
> What did you think? Let me know what you thought and felt in the box down below. 
> 
> See you same time next week!


	18. Fractures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, people get attacked, Emma confronts her problems with feeling comfortable around people, a birthday is celebrated and old memories come up, and we learn the fairy tale personas of Ray and LJ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can say this: this chapter was easier to write than the last one, though only in terms of fewer cases of writer’s block.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything canon is owned by Adam and Eddy and ABC (and Disney). 
> 
> Another Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Arizona state law, but I am trying my best. I am also not a medical professional. I just work with what Google gives me.
> 
> One More Disclaimer: And this one is especially important. There is some discussion of something that happens with dubious consent. It’s not shown outright, and it’s not talked about in great detail, but I felt it was necessary to put that there.
> 
> With those out of the way, I’d like to say thanks to everyone who left a comment and/or kudos, and a special thanks as always to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_January 11, 2012_

Cora sat in her dull little living room, a case file in her lap, but she was distracted by the minor inconvenience her daughter had presented her. The sheriff had been very good at providing her the files she needed, particularly the ones that he took from one of her daughter’s sycophants. She believed his name was Mr. Glass.

Cora was no fool. She knew that Regina would eventually wish to kill the sheriff for continually evading her grasp. That’s why when she saw someone toiling with the sheriff’s car, Cora attempted to correct that mistake. After all, she still had use for the sheriff. Sadly, being a mechanic was not amongst her skill set. She would’ve gotten someone else to do so if she could.

She had managed to save the sheriff’s life, even if she couldn’t avoid his stay at the hospital.

Cora sighed. It was a nuisance, but at the very least the man was alive, and he was set to be released from the hospital today.

Instead of wasting anymore time on that trivial manner, Cora opened the file she had been waiting quite patiently to get her hands on.

It was a copy of a criminal record from the Phoenix Department of Corrections for one Emma Swan, aged 16 at the time of arrest for Class 6 felony theft with the intent to sell. Cora rolled her eyes when a note in the file stated that she had apparently stolen _watches_ of all things.

Cora read on, and a smile began to appear on her face at another note in the file of Emma Swan. Apparently, she had to visit the prison hospital a number of times, and even gave birth to a healthy baby boy in March 2001.

 _The boy was born in prison,_ Cora thought. Back in Cora’s day, and even Regina’s, a 16-year-old having a child wasn’t considered strange, unless it wasn’t her husband’s child. Oh if only Cora could speak to Eva just to tell her granddaughter birthed a bastard child in prison.

Cora wondered if even Regina knew. Possibly not since she hadn’t already published this. If she did, Cora wondered what she was waiting for.

Cora also briefly wondered who the father was before pushing the thought away. He was from the Land Without Magic, so he was by all accounts insignificant.

That still left the Savior to deal with...and the pirate. It became common knowledge that the ‘deputy’ and the ‘librarian’ had become quite closer. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, Cora was worried. Cora had been away from the Enchanted Forest for some time. She didn’t have as many allies as she would’ve liked. In fact, Hook had been the only ally she knew she had. If he was gone, she would have to start from scratch.

Perhaps there was a way to divide the Savior and Hook. Something small that would start a tiny amount of suspicion but have the potential to fester. Judging by the Savior’s track record, that might not be as hard as she would think.

Cora looked over at the clock on her wall and let out another sigh. Just as things were getting interesting, Cora had to remember that she had other obligations to attend to, although they were infinitely more tedious.

Cora placed the files in the secret compartment she also placed the sheriff’s heart in, and got ready to attend to this obligation.

Of all the things that Cora had to be made to do, she wouldn’t have thought that being the member of a school board would be among them.

Still, it allowed her to keep an eye on Snow White’s cursed persona, and it even allowed her a modicum of power over her. Should the need arise, perhaps Cora could turn this to her advantage.   

* * *

“Slow down.” Graham told Declan as he watched the young man inhale his breakfast. “There’s no need for you to go back to the hospital.”

Declan rolled his eyes. “I’ve been eating shitty hospital food for a month. I’m not wasting any time. And in case your forgot, you just got out of the hospital too."

 _With an inconclusive report about why my car malfunctioned the way it did,_ Graham thought, not exactly pleased with that recent development. Emma had gone over it half a dozen times, but they couldn't figure out what went wrong, which was all the more disconcerting.

Trying not to think about it too much, Graham turned his attention towards Declan. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't choke or swear." Graham said. "Do I need to start up a swear jar?"

“I don’t have any money.” Declan replied.

“If you’re good, I could eventually give you an allowance?” Graham said as he ate his own breakfast.

“Seriously?” Declan asked in surprise, putting a pause on his eating for the first time since the plates were put in front of them.

“If you’re good.” Graham reaffirmed. “Which means cutting back on the swearing.”

“Shit.” Declan swore in disappointment before hastily adding, “That didn’t count.”

Graham arched a brow. "Fine, but starting now, swearing counts."

Declan then asked. “Any chance I don’t have to go to school today?”

“And miss out on a chance to enrich your education?” Graham teased. “Not a chance.”

At that, Declan deflated.  

Feeling a little bad, Graham then added, “Think of it this way - you’ll get to spend some time with LJ today. Isn’t that important?”

Declan perked up. “Yeah. LJ’s gonna turn 13. I’m just glad I’m not going to miss the sleepover on Saturday.”

"You see, there's a silver lining in everything." Graham said optimistically.

Just then, Nancy arrived with a coffee pot in hand. “How’s your breakfast?” She asked with a friendly smile.

Graham knew that the smile was a courtesy, part of the job, but there was still a part of him that hoped it was especially friendly for _him_. “It’s great.” Graham said as he looked at her.

Nancy smiled, and Graham felt his heart beat faster.

“You want anymore coffee?” Nancy asked.

“Please.” Graham said as he placed his mug closer to her. “How’s the new job treating you?”

Nancy began to pour the coffee. “Pretty good. It’s a lot less...demanding.”

“I’ll bet.” Graham said. “I’m happy for you.”  
  
"It's easier on my stress levels." Nancy said as she finished pouring.

Graham just nodded, knowing that any job could be considered stress-free if one answered directly to Regina. He knew the feeling quite well.

“How are you feeling?” Nancy asked.

“Much better.” Graham said. “Doctor says I’m fit to return to duty.”

“I can tell.” Nancy said.

Graham smirked at her, and filled with an unexpected level of boldness said, “That’s not the only thing I’m fit for.”

Before the creeping fear that he’d gone too far settled in his mind, Nancy smirked back. “Like I said, I can tell.” Nancy then turned to Declan. “You want a refill for your chocolate?” She asked.

“Yep.” Declan said. At a look from Graham, he added, “Please.”

Nancy then nodded and took the mug away to the kitchen, Graham watching her as she went.

Declan cleared his throat, causing Graham to look at the boy, whose eyebrow was raised. "You know you're making eyes at her, right? I mean you look like a puppy whenever she's around."

“What? No I don’t.” Graham denied.

“Mhmm, sure.” Declan said as he returned to his food.

“I don’t.” Graham said again. “She’s just a friend.”

“I’m twelve, not five.” Declan said. “I know what you want to do with her. My parents did it all the time in the house.”

Graham was a little worried about what that meant. “What do you mean?”

“Kissing stuff.” Declan said. Before Graham could breathe a sigh of relief, Declan added, “And sex.”

Graham’s face started feeling hot. He tried to speak but jumbled noises came out instead.

Declan looked nonplussed. “What’s the big deal?”

"Kids just are...too young to talk about that stuff." Graham said a touch too quietly, hoping that his face wasn’t too red.

Declan shrugged. “Hey just as long as you two don’t do it while I’m around, I don’t care.” His face then took in a disgusted look. “It was bad enough when I walked in on my parents-”

“Wow look at the time.” Graham said in a higher pitched tone. “The bus will be here soon enough. Better finish that breakfast.”

“Okay.” Declan said as he began to finish his breakfast.

Maybe they could finish this breakfast in silence.

Nancy then came back with a new mug of chocolate for Declan. She looked at Graham and seemed a little concerned. “Graham, are you okay? You seem a little...red.”

Before Graham could utter one word in defense of himself, Declan said, “I think he needs to have the talk.”

Graham hid his hands in his face as Nancy asked confused but wary questions about what he was talking about. If for nothing else, Graham had an interesting kid he was going to take care of.

* * *

“It figures my birthday would be on a Wednesday.” LJ groused at lunch.

“At least I’m here to make your life better.” Declan smirked smugly.

LJ let out a dramatic “Nooooooo.” He then chuckled when Declan narrowed his eyes at him. LJ then told him, “I am really glad that you’re here though. You feeling better?”

“Definitely.” Declan said. “I can eat real fucking food again. Not that shit that the hospital cafeteria has.”

“Aren’t you supposed to not swear anymore?” LJ smirked. “After all, you want to get an allowance right?”

Declan narrowed his eyes at LJ. “Well Graham’s not gonna know about it, is he?”

“Weeeeeeell.” LJ drew out teasingly. At the squawk Declan made, LJ burst into laughter, so unused to catching him off-guard. “It’s okay, I won’t tell him.”

“Won’t tell him what?” Henry asked as he appeared at the table with something behind his back.

“About Declan’s pottymouth.” LJ said.

Henry scoffed. “Like he doesn’t know already?” Henry then brought his hands in front of him, and revealed that he had been holding a cupcake. “Happy birthday, LJ.”

“Thanks.” LJ smiled as he accepted the cupcake. Soon they were joined by Ava, Nick, and Paige, and his friends began to sing the song to him, much to his embarrassment when other kids joined along.

“Happy birthday to you!” They finished off, cheering and clapping as LJ took a bite out of his cupcake.

“So, you’re thirteen, right?” Nick asked.

“Yep.” LJ replied, a smile still on his face. He was _13._ He could finally watch a PG-13 movie without his uncle saying he couldn’t. Not that LJ hadn’t tried to watch them before, but since they lived in the same apartment it was kind of hard to be sneaky. Plus, before he got actual friends, he spent most of his time with Ray.

“What do you want for presents?” Paige asked before she bit into a sandwich.

“Um…” LJ trailed off, trying to think about what he might want that his friends could afford. “I think...I want a nerf gun. That way Nick and I can be on an even playing field.”

Nick snapped his fingers in a faux disappointed way.

“Other than that, I want another _Black Panther_ comic,” he said before sending a significant look to Henry. To the others he said, “Other than that, get whatever you guys think I’ll like it.”

"That's not very helpful." Ava said.

“It’s my birthday, and I don’t feeling like thinking.” LJ said petulantly. LJ then realized that he forgot to get something to drink, and went to check his pocket for lunch money. Thankfully, he still had a few dollars on him, and stood up.

“Where are you going?” Declan asked.

“I’m just gonna grab something to drink.” LJ said as he turned to walk to the soda fountain. On his way, he saw another girl who was already getting a drink, but she didn’t notice that she was about to step on a puddle formed by a leak from the machine, as she was taking a sip of her drink.

She took a step without paying attention, and LJ immediately saw the moment that her foot slid forward too quickly, causing her to lose balance.

LJ immediately ran forward and grabbed her, managing to steady her before the back of her head could slam against the soda fountain.  

LJ heard another student, who must have been observing, let out a surprised “Ooh!” as LJ steadied the girl. He didn’t recognize her, and he asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” The girl said. “Thanks.” She did seem displeased that some of her drink got on her uniform though.

Soon the lunch lady came around to see what the problem was. Once she saw the puddle, she called for the janitor, though by the time the janitor came LJ had taken a drink from the soda fountain, handed the lunch lady his money, and went back to his table.

“Is she okay?” Ava asked as his friends watched LJ sit down.

“Yep.” LJ told them as he took a sip of his drink.

“Wow, LJ.” Declan said. “You’re a regular white knight.”

At this, Henry perked up, and LJ knew that he was probably wondering if there were any 13-year-old knights in that book of his.

"I am not." LJ told Declan, though he did make sure to give him a significant look.

Henry didn’t look deterred. “You could be.”

“Again, probably not.” LJ said. “Now come on, lunch is gonna be over soon...ish. Let’s keep eating.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Declan said as he began to finish off his food.

LJ looked at Henry, and nearly rolled his eyes at the conspiratorial look on Henry’s face.

To be fair, LJ thought it would be interesting to see who Henry thought he was. It was kind of fun to see who matched up with who in town, though sometimes LJ was taken aback by the eerie similarities between the people in town and the people in Henry’s book. At first, they ‘figured out’ that Sidney Glass was the mirror guy, and that Ashley was Cinderella. Those were easy enough, and it was coincidental enough that LJ didn’t think about it too hard. But then they saw other similarities, like how Gold sometimes seemed like the Rumpelstiltskin characters, or how there was a Red and her Granny like Ruby and Mrs. Lucas. Well, okay, there were probably a bunch of old weird guys, or young woman and their single grandmothers...he just didn’t know anyone else like that yet.

"Hello, Earth to LJ." Declan was waving a hand in front of LJ's face.

LJ reflectively waved it away. “What?”

“You were spacing out.” Declan said. “And lunch is over in like two minutes.”

LJ looked at the clock and sighed after seeing that Declan was right. LJ then began to focus on his food, and not on fairy tale characters. It was just something to do with Henry’s mental problems. He genuinely believed it, but that didn’t mean LJ did, but that also didn’t mean he was going to stop helping him match people up. Henry kind of took people making fun of the curse badly, and he got this hurt look on his face that just made LJ feel bad.

LJ managed to wolf down his food and finish his drink just as lunch ended, and he said goodbye to his friends as he walked back to his classroom.

LJ tried not to think about Henry’s curse, but that opened up room for the other thing he tried not to think about - his parents. His _biological_ parents that is. As far as he was concerned, they were just two people who took off when he was a baby, and never even so much as called to say hi.

LJ scoffed. It wasn’t like he missed them. How could he? But he wasn’t stupid. He knew that they had been close to Ray. His mom had been Ray’s cousin after all, and he knew that the two of them leaving and never coming back hurt Ray.

He could feel a little hurt about them leaving him, but he hadn’t known them, so that loss wasn’t too profound. For Ray though, for the hurt they inflicted on him...

That’s why he wasn’t a knight. After all, knights could be forgiving, and LJ wouldn’t forgive them for that.

* * *

“Killian, are you listening to me?” Dada asked him.

Killian shook his head. “Sorry, I must have gotten lost in thought. What did you say?”

“I said your students are here.” Dada told him.

“They’re not my stu-” the words died on Killian’s lips at the unimpressed look Dada gave him. “Alright then.”

“Hi Lady!” Nick greeted the dog who immediately went to see the arrivals to the library.

Soon enough, all of the children circled around the dog to pet her, and she lapped up every bit of the attention.

“Hi Killian.” Henry greeted, and soon everyone else greeted him the same way before returning their attention to the dog...save for Declan who silently waved at him.

Killian was overshadowed by a puppy.

David’s words to him the day he got Lady haunted him. _“You’re unleashing a puppy onto a bunch of middle schoolers. All hope is lost.”_

It was clear that David could never know about this.

Thankfully, Dada decided to intercede. “Alright kids, get to your tables. You can play with the puppy after you’re done with your work.”

The less studious ones, particularly Declan, groaned, but nonetheless went to the table after Dada gave them a stern look.

Soon enough the lesson was underway...for the most part. For some reason, Killian’s mind kept drifting off, though to where he couldn’t say.

Unfortunately, he realized too late that he had begun trailing off, and Dada covered for him by encouraging the kids to work on their own projects. The kids looked a little confused, but nonetheless got to work - though they did try to coax Lady to come over to them.

Dada then took Killian aside and quietly asked, “Killian, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Killian said. “I must not be getting much sleep.”

Dada's concerned expression only grew. “You don’t seem sleepy to me.” She told him. “Is something going on? Is it Mr. Gold?”

“Gold and I haven’t been directly at loggerheads for some time thankfully.” Killian responded.

“At loggerheads?” Dada asked a little confused.

Killian opened his mouth to explain, but he paused, wondering why he had said that. Why use those words exactly? His mind kept drifting off, like he was trying to remember something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was he was trying to remember.

“Killian.” Dada said sharply.

Killian looked at her. “Did I drift off again?”

“Yeah.” Dada said. “Has this been happening a lot lately?”

Killian thought on it. “I don’t think so.”

“When did it start?” Dada asked.

“I...I don’t know to be honest.” Killian admitted. It just started out of the blue, seeing these images.

Dada didn’t look comforted, though before she continue to speak, one of the kids called her over for help. She sent Killian one more concerned look before going over to help him.

For the rest of the lesson, Killian tried to not think of his lapses in thought, of how his mind seemed to wander more and more with no destination in mind. He might not have worried about it so much if he just knew what was causing it.

Ava and Nick packed up their stuff and left the library, which coincidentally is when Ray came in.

LJ noticed him and waved. “Hi Ray.”

“Hi. You almost done?” He asked the boy as he stood next to him.

“Almost.” LJ said. “Can I finish here?”

“Sure.” Ray said, and the boy got back to work.

Lady, realizing that there was a new person in the library, went over to greet him.

“Hi, Lady.” Ray cooed as he bent down to pet the puppy. Lady, of course, took every bit of attention she could get.

“Traitor.” Killian grumbled.

Ray, sending him a wicked look, picked up Lady and carried her over in his arms. “Maybe she just likes me more.”

In the background, Killian heard Declan say “Ooooooh” before Henry nudged him.

Killian narrowed his eyes at the lawyer. “And here I thought we were friends.”

Dada passed by them whilst rolling her eyes.

“We are friends.” Ray said. “Your dog just likes me better.”

Just then, Lady began to twist in Ray’s arms and lean towards Killian.

Killian triumphantly took Lady from Ray’s arms. “She knows where her true loyalties lie. Good Lady.”

Lady tried to lick his face.

Killian looked at Ray to gloat again, but upon closer inspection, he saw that there more stress lines than usual on the man’s face. His mind seemed preoccupied with something else, and although he was looking at Killian, his eyes seemed to grow more and more distant.

“Something troubling you?” Killian asked him.

“What? No.” Ray told him. “Just work and finalizing plans for a 13-year-old’s birthday sleepover.”

“Ah.” Killian said. “And...has Judge Herman been lenient recently.”

“I really don’t want to get into that.” Ray told him tiredly. “I’m just trying to focus on one thing at a time. If I get all of my work done, I can use Saturday to focus all of my energy on LJ."

Before Killian could inquire further, LJ announced that he was done. Soon he and Ray went out of the door, but Killian saw something just before Ray disappeared from view.

On his face were the signs of exhaustion, perhaps physical but mainly emotional, and of an attempt to hide it. It was the type of expression Killian would sometimes see on his own face when he looked at himself in the mirror, during times when he was forced to remember his own past. However, the look was familiar to Killian because of the way Ray looked at LJ when that look came over his face.

It was the same look he would see on Liam’s face whenever his older brother thought he wasn’t looking. Whenever Liam would try to hide how exhausted he was looking after both of them, dealing with their parents death, and hiding his own troubles while focusing on Killian.

It was the same look he saw on Ray’s face, and Killian wondered just how long Ray could hide that exhaustion before it overwhelmed him.

* * *

_Percival was on a mission from Arthur to begin talks between him and the king of Corbenic. King Pelles was Percival’s uncle, and because Lancelot also hailed from Corbenic, Arthur deemed them to be fit to go on the mission. Despite the diplomatic overtones, as well as the general worry that accompanied a possible visit from Percival’s father, Percival soon spotted the one reason he was eager to come to Corbenic._

_“Lainey.” Percival called out to his cousin, who was staring out at the gardens from one of the hall windows._

_Lainey turned towards him, a perturbed look on her face before she attempted to replace it with a smile. “Hello, Percy.” She said as she gave a small curtsy._

_Percival sighed at the nickname, but nonetheless bowed. “Will you never stop referring to me as such?”_

_“I’m afraid you shall have to endure it for some time.” Lainey told him._

_Percival teased, “Then perhaps I shall refer to you by your true name.”_

_Lainey gave him a displeased look. “I beg that you do not. There are far too many Elaines in the world, but only one Lainey.”_

_“Indeed.” Percival replied. He noticed that the perturbed look on Lainey’s face did not abate, and he couldn’t allow the matter to go unspoken. “Cousin, what troubles you?”_

_“What do you mean?” Lainey asked. After Percival gave her a look of his own, she looked around. “May we talk somewhere else? Someone with more privacy?”_

_“Of course.” Percival said, curious as to what it was Lainey was hesitant to speak of._

_They walked to their room in silence, and that’s when Percival thought of something. Where were her guards? Lainey was their uncle’s only child, and he’d made sure that she had at least three guards by her side since she was an infant. Why was she alone now?_

_It was only when they were in her room, Lainey shutting the door behind them, and taking several steps away from the door did Percival’s cousin speak._

_“You must promise that you won’t speak of what I’m about to tell you.” Lainey told him seriously._

_Percival nodded._

_Instead of feeling comforted, she stepped closer to him and said, “You must swear by it. My father cannot know.”_

_Percival started to ask, “Lainey, what-”_

_“Promise me.” Lainey insisted._

_“I promise.” Percival said in worry. What was she about to reveal?_

_Lainey swallowed a lump in her throat. Her gaze drifted from Percival’s eyes, though a shy but sad smile appeared on her face.  “Lancelot and I...we spoke at great length for some at the ball last night. It was all going so well that, we…” At this, red began to appear in Lainey’s cheeks._

_Percival felt distinctly uncomfortable. He didn’t particularly care for hearing of his cousin and best friend doing...things together, though he could guess on how it started. “Did it have anything to do with that kiss?”_

_Lainey’s head snapped towards him. “How did you know?”_

_Percival said, “I witnessed you two kiss in the alcove, away from the ballroom. I felt it wasn’t my place to intervene. After all, as long as you were safe and no children came from it-”_

_“Percival, Lancelot acts as if nothing happened.” Lainey interrupted him. “I spoke with him this morning, but Lancelot behaved as if I was mistaken, or as if I had lost my senses.”_

_“What do you mean?” Percival asked confusedly._

_“He seemed surprised when I brought up the night before.” Lainey said in an uncertain tone. “But then when I brought up specific details-”_

_“Which I need not know of.” Percival interceded._

_Lainey glared as she continued, “When I spoke of specific details, he seemed...surprised. Before I could speak more of it, he walked away.” Lainey then looked hurt. “I am aware that he had not viewed me in such a way before, but I thought that…”_

_Percival felt sympathy for his cousin. Lancelot could be a touch coarse at times, but never deliberately cruel. Perhaps a simple talk would do._

_“Allow me to speak to him.” Percival told her._

_Lainey started, “You need not-”_

_“Yes I do.” Percival said. “I would hate to see you unhappy, or to have any misunderstanding ruin anything between you two.”_

_Lainey still seemed hesitant, but nonetheless nodded. “Thank you, Percival.”_

_Percival leaned forward to kiss her forehead, just as he had done when they were children. “Anything for you, Lainey.”_

_Percival then left her room and went to search for Lancelot, whom he eventually found in one of the towers of the castle. Lancelot was looking over the vast landscape of the castle, but had a deeply perturbed look on his face._

_He stopped to take a breath, trying to quell the building anger on his cousin’s behalf. Lancelot had been his best friend for years, but if he intended on hurting Lainey’s feelings any further, Percival would have no choice but to defend her honor. And if that included ruining Lancelot’s face a little, then…_

_“Lancelot.” Percival called out._

_Lancelot’s head whipped towards him in surprise. “What are you doing up here?”_

_“This is where you go to think.” Percival said as he stepped closer. “Whenever I would bring you with me on my visits to Corbenic, you would always come here.”_

_Lancelot nodded. “Hardly anyone bothers to come into this tower.”_

_That was true. It was further away from the other towers, and somewhat in a state of disrepair. It had been for some time now, but despite his uncle’s repeated insistence that he would attend to it, no work was ever done. Eventually, they all simply stopped asking it of him._

_“Did you need me for something?” Lancelot asked._

_Percival steeled himself for the task at hand. “Did something occur between you and Lainey?”_

_Lancelot sighed. “No, nothing happened between us.”_

_“Lainey seems to think differently.” Percival said in a displeased tone._

_“I think I would know.” Lancelot said._

_“Do you claim that she is a liar?” Percival asked irately._

_“I say that she is mistaken.” Lancelot shot back before sighing again, shaking his head in a worried manner. “But I did something bad, Percy.”_

That’s not good, _Percival thought. Lancelot stopped calling him ‘Percy’ when the two of them began serious training to become knights, and only slipped up whenever he was feeling especially worried or nostalgic. Percival didn’t believe that Lancelot felt any sort of nostalgia at the present moment._

_“What do you believe you did?” Percival asked._

_Lancelot looked around, and then opened the door to see if anyone was listening in. When he deemed that no one was there, he closed the door again and stepped closer to Percival._

_“You must swear that you will speak of this to no one.” Lancelot told him seriously._

Twice now I must swear myself to secrecy, _Percival thought. “I swear.” He told him._

_Lancelot took one more look around, as if to make sure no one was listening through the walls of the tower, before looking at Percival again. “I slept with the queen.” Lancelot admittedly, a look of guilt and elation on his face._

_“Which queen?” Percival asked confusedly._

_“Guinevere.” Lancelot said as if it should have been obvious. “She was at the ball last night, and we just...I knew it was wrong, but things between herself and Arthur have been tense since Violet’s birth and…” Lancelot looked ashamed. “What’s wrong with me? I slept with the wife of one of my closest friends. I only had one goblet of wine but...”_

_“Lancelot, what are you talking about?” Percival asked. “Guinevere wasn’t here last night.”_

_“What? Of course she was.” Lancelot replied. “You danced with her four times.”_

_“No, I danced with Lainey four times.” Percival said, wondering just how much wine Lancelot had last night. “I had to intervene at least two to make sure she would be forced to dance with some lord’s son. And you danced with her more than I did.”_

_“No, I didn’t.” Lancelot insisted, looking at Percival as if he were the one that was mad._

_“And you kissed her.” Percival insisted. Seeing that Lancelot was about to interrupt, Percival continued, “In the alcove down the hall from the ballroom. I saw the two of you kiss there after Lainey’s father retired for the night. He claimed that it was simply old age, but we all know it was because the pain in his leg flared again.”_

_Lancelot stared at him silently in disbelief. After awhile he finally said, “That is...no, Guinevere and I-”_

_“Guinevere was never here.” Percival told him, his mind fearing that stronger than wine could have affected Lancelot’s mind. “Think about it. The queen of Britannia visits a foreign land across the sea without any notice or an entourage, and then leaves without further word? What was in that wine you drank?”_

_“I have no idea.” Lancelot said. “I just took the goblet without thinking. I thought I could indulge myself in just one, and then Dame Brusen arrived with one in hand and-”_

_“Dame Brusen?” Percival asked, his mind racing as he heard the woman’s name. “She offered you a goblet of wine, and you took it from her?”_

_“Yes.” Lancelot answered._

_“Why would you do that?” Percival asked. “You’ve heard the rumors - of what she was before my uncle knighted her.”_

_“I told you I didn’t think.” Lancelot said, rubbing his head as if something pained him. “I could hardly think last night. My head started aching since we arrived. My senses…” with a sort of dawning horror Lancelot asked, “Percival, are you sure it was Lainey you saw me with?”_

_“Positive.” Percival said grimly. “Lainey is sure of it also. She seemed convinced of the sincerity of your...night together.”_

_“Gods.” Lancelot groaned, now with some fear in his eyes. “Dame Brusen did something to my mind. Percival, what did she do?”_

_“I don’t know.” Percival said in sympathy for his best friend. “She has always been a strange creature. I’ve heard that she even considers my uncle a confidante.”_

_“You think your uncle knew something of this?” Lancelot asked in disbelief._

_Percival thought of his uncle’s slow but obvious descent into strange behavior. He thought of how unconcerned he seemed with worldly matters, neglecting his daughter, his health, and his kingdom. What’s more, something about the whole affair deeply unsettled Percival. Not solely because of the growing suspicion he held that both his cousin and best friend had been cruelly deceived, but something else was there...something else told him that the matter went deeper. And at the heart of it was Dame Brusen, who had an undeniable connection to his uncle._

_“I do not know.” Percival told his friend. “But I intend to find out.”_

* * *

As Emma walked along the docks, she thought about how quiet things have been. Nothing eventful had happened, unless Regina’s agenda counted. Seriously, didn’t that woman have a town to run?

Regina seemed eager to see how things were going the first day Graham got back. Graham could hardly hide his discomfort, and Emma didn’t fail to notice how many times Regina ‘accidentally’ brushed up against him.

The only reason Emma was walking along the docks now was because Regina all but threatened her job if she didn’t do some patrolling. Emma didn’t want to go, as she didn’t want to leave Graham alone with Regina. Graham clearly didn’t want to be alone with her either, but nonetheless told Emma to go on patrol, saying he’d hold down the fort.

Thankfully, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, and the docks weren’t generally busy. It was probably the least busy part of town, which she didn’t think was good for the fishers in the town. Maybe if nothing else happened, she could head back to the station. Hopefully Regina wouldn’t still be there.

Emma’s mind then began to drift to other uncomfortable things, namely her doubts about Killian.

Killian, himself, was fantastic. The problem was her, or how she couldn’t shake this anxious feeling she had. She would freely admit that she had fun on the date, and she knew that Killian cared about and respected her. However, she knew that she felt that same feeling of anticipation she did whenever she got a little too comfy in a foster home. It was like she was waiting for something to go wrong.

Her entire life seemed to revolve around that feeling. The Swans adopted her, and then they had their own kid and sent her back. She had a good foster home, something another kid did would get blamed on her and she'd be labeled a troubled kid. Lily became her best friend, only to turn out to be a complete liar. Neal was going to take her away from a life of petty theft, and betrayed her and sent her to jail.

Every time something good happened, something worse would happen eventually.

Sometimes she’d have trouble sleeping, because her mind kept trying to come up with scenarios in which Killian ended up letting her down, trying to anticipate what he could do. It soured every good memory she had, because now part of her time was spent trying to protect herself from getting hurt.

It was exhausting.

And just when Emma was about to try and put that out of her mind, she spotted Killian standing next to the water, quietly watching the waves as Lady shuffling around next to his feet. When Lady noticed her, she barked and began tugging on the leash in her direction.

This is what caused Killian to turn and look at her, and instantly that pensive look that had been on his face was replaced with a smile.

That didn’t make that anxious feeling go away.  

“Swan.” Killian greeted, obliging by Lady’s silent command as he walked towards her.

"Hey." Emma tried to give him a smile, but she wasn't sure it was a good one.

“Come to arrest someone?” Killian asked. “I’m fairly certain some dock workers were beheading a few fish. Gruesome scene.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious, Swan." Killian said. "All those poor defenseless fish just mutilated."

Lady whined.

“See? Poor Lady was devastated.” Killian told her.

“I’m pretty sure she’s just mad that we’re not paying attention to her.” Emma replied.

Lady then began to try to circle around Emma’s legs.

“See?” Emma said with a raised eyebrow.  Emma rolled her eyes again but obliged the puppy by petting her. Looking up at Killian she asked, “How old is she now?”

“Eleven weeks now.” Killian answered. He knelt down as well, smiling at the pair.

It warmed Emma’s heart as much as it worried her. Maybe now was a good time to put up some boundaries. It was for the best. If something went wrong then maybe her heart would be safe.

“Hey Killian?” Emma started.

“Mhmm?” Killian hummed.

“I just wanted to say that I enjoyed our date Sunday.” Emma started quietly. Seeing the hopeful look on Killian’s face, she continued, “And I want to go on another one, but...I’ve been thinking…”

“About what?” Killian asked, his voice also quiet, and Emma could sense the wariness that lied underneath.

“I just think that if we’re gonna keep doing this, maybe we should just take it slow.” Emma said. “Maybe we shouldn’t...expect anything.”

"Expect anything?" Killian asked.

“Just...in case things don’t work out.” Emma said.

Killian's shoulders dropped, his eyes filling with hurt. “Do you expect them not to?” He asked.

Emma shrugged. "It’s nothing against you.”

“But why now?” Killian asked.

Emma looked at him briefly before standing up. “I better get going.” She said as she turned around to walk back to your car.

Suddenly Killian asked, with a twinge of hurt and anger, “Why do you keep pulling away?”

“I’m not.” Emma said, stopping but not turning around.

“Who was it?” Killian asked.

“Who was what?” Emma asked, finally turning back to look at him.

“Who was it that made you put those walls up?” Killian asked, and she could tell that it was raw emotion that drove this line of questioning.

That proved to be too much for Emma. She wouldn’t tell him. She couldn’t tell him. If he knew how many people had rejected her in her life, if he knew that so many people came with the promise of happiness and left with another piece of Emma’s heart, maybe this would give him a real reason to leave her too.

So instead of answering him, Emma turned around once more and left, ignoring Killian calling out to her.

* * *

As Killian and Dada were cleaning up the library, eager to finish soon so that they could lock up on time, he thought about his time at the docks. He went there because the sea calmed him, and he thought it would give him some sense of peace. After all, he still hadn’t forgotten the fact that his mind was drifting away at inopportune times.

Whatever hope for peace had disappeared after his conversation with Emma.

Well, calling it a conversation would be a touch too kind.

What had he done? Did he move too fast without realizing it? Why had Emma pulled away?

Before Killian could think on it further, Lady started barking at something through the window. Killian was able to spot a figure lurking in the darkness, walking around the exterior of the library.

Killian’s eyes narrowed as he turned his full attention to where he thought he saw the figure.

“What is it?” Dada asked after catching the suspicious look on his face. Lady growled a little.

“Stay here.” Killian told her, picking up a bat from behind the front counter.

“Should I call the police?” Dada asked worriedly.

“Stay here.” Killian repeated.

He went outside to investigate, and shut the door behind him before Lady could follow. He raised the bat in anticipation of a fight, and went in the direction the figure had gone. Soon though, he was surprised to see a familiar person milling about the garbage.

“Phoebe?” Killian asked, lowering the bat.

Phoebe jumped, and looked at him in worry. “Hi.” She said nervously.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I was, um, looking for the store.” Phoebe said as she held on tightly to the straps of the backpack she wore.

“Most of the stores are closed by now.” Killian said. “Which one were you looking for?”

“Uh, just one with some film reel or something.” Phoebe quickly answered. “I got a Polaroid camera for Christmas, so I wanted to get more stuff for it.”

Killian knew that this was a hastily put together excuse. He arched a brow at her. "Really?"

“Yeah, really.” Phoebe said defensively. “I better go now. It’s almost curfew for nuns, and stuff.”

Before Killian could get another word out, Phoebe ran around him and took off down the street.

Killian went to follow her. “Phoebe wai-”

There was a rustle behind him. Killian turned around to see what it was when pain exploded on the side of his face. Killian twisted his ankle trying to stay upright, but it was of no use. Killian went down against the ground, his bat rolling away from him with a clatter. He tried to look at who was attacking him, but all he saw was a man in a mask.

The man held a pipe in his hand, which Killian figured was what he had been hit with. “Give me your wallet. _Now_.”

“Don’t have it on me.” Killian told him before gritting his teeth, trying to keep his cool.

Killian swore he saw the man smile before he raised the pipe and brought it down on Killian. Instinctively, Killian held up his left arm to defend himself, and he winced at the dull pain that radiated on the spot where the pipe hit his arm. Instinctively, Killian held up his left arm to defend himself, and he winced at the dull pain that radiated on the spot where the pipe hit his arm.

Another blow landed against Killian’s ribs, with another blow against his chest knocking the wind out of him. Killian tried to roll away but another blow went down on his back. More blows glanced off the side of his ribs, and it became harder to breathe.

The only pause that came was when he felt the man grab the back of his shirt and tried to pull him closer to him. Killian gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain as he tackled the man. He felt his ankle scream in pain as the two of them fought for control of the pipe. Killian yanked the pipe downward, and then headbutted the man.

The man shouted in pain, instinctively releasing one hand from the pipe to bring it to his forehead. Killian pushed forward and knocked the man against the wall, and the two of them continued fighting for the pipe. However, Killian found that it was becoming increasingly more difficult to breathe properly.

The man then punched Killian in the ribs, and Killian bent over with a shout, sure that one of his ribs was fractured.

The man raised the pipe over his head, and Killian just barely managed to move enough to avoid it hitting the back of his skull. It did, however, glance against his cheek, sending Killian to his knees.

“Hey!” Dada’s voice shouted, and Killian saw the man dodge out of the way of Dada’s swing of the bat. Dada again tried to hit the man, but he took off down the street.  

Dada didn’t bother chasing the man, and it was only then that Killian calmed down enough the sounds of Lady’s frantic barking over his ragged breath.

“Killian, are you okay?” Dada asked, her eyes scared and worried.

“I’m f-” Killian’s attempts to reassure her failed as he felt a sharp pain in his side.

“You’re really beat up.” Dada said, looking around as if to see if the man was coming back. “Can you get up?”

Killian managed to stand up on his own, but not without great difficulty. Dada gingerly held one of his arms in her hand while the other kept a tight hold of the bat.

“You’re gonna be okay.” Dada told him. “What happened?”

“He wanted my wallet.” Killian groaned out as she helped him inside.

“All this for a wallet?” She asked incredulously before directing him to sit in one of the chairs. “Sit here, I’m going to call for help.”

However, just at that moment, sirens began to wail. Dada and Killian shared a confused look as Graham appeared with a hand on his gun

Graham swore before he asked, “What happened?”

“It was a mugger.” Dada answered for him, as Killian found it hard to breathe.

“Have you called an ambulance?” Graham asked.

“I was about to. I’ll do that right now.” Dada said before hurrying off to get to the phone.

“How did...you know about…?” Killian trailed off breathless, his vision briefly going black.

“Someone called it in.” Graham told him. “Listen, you’re going to be okay. Doctors are going to fix you right up.”

Killian didn’t answer, as he suddenly felt very tired, and he couldn’t keep his head up.

“Killian?” Graham asked, his voice very far away.

Killian opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He tried to keep his eyes open, but he failed, and soon darkness overtook his mind, and he drifted away.

* * *

Emma was at the loft hoping to catch a good night’s sleep when she got a call from Graham.

With a sigh she answered her phone. “I’m really hoping you’re not asking me to cover your night-”

“Killian’s in the hospital.” Graham interrupted her.

A shock went through Emma’s body.

His words registered, but it was as though Emma were floating, like she wasn’t in her own body.

It was only a few seconds later that Emma realized Graham was saying her name.

“What happened?” She asked as her mind tried to catch up with what was going on.

“A mugger.” Graham said. “The assailant got away, but Killian’s in the hospital.”

“I’m on my way.” Emma said, hanging up and immediately getting her shoes on.

“Where are you going?” Mary Margaret asked, sitting on the couch in her pajamas, a book resting on her lap as she looked at Emma worriedly.

“Killian’s in the hospital.” Emma said as she hastily tied her shoes.

“What?” Mary Margaret asked, her voice reaching a higher pitch.

“Someone attacked him.” Emma said as she went over to put on her deputy badge and her jacket.

“Oh my god.” Mary Margaret said. “Let me get changed.”

“No.” Emma said sharply. At Mary Margaret’s wary look, Emma tried to soften her tone. “You don’t need to. Just stay here.”

“Emma-” Mary Margaret tried to say.

“Stay here.” Emma restated firmly, already heading out of the door with her keys in hand. Soon it was closed behind her. Emma ran to her car, and hastily turned on the ignition. She barely got her seatbelt on before she started driving down the road.

As she drove, she tried to remain calm. Graham said that they were at the hospital. He didn’t explain the extent of their injuries, but he didn’t say they were dead. They were alive...for now. What if their injuries were bad?

Was Killian awake? What the hell had happened? God, what if his injuries were really bad, and she-

 _Keep it together_ , she told herself. _Freak out after you know exactly what happened, and only if you’re alone._

Emma arrived at the hospital, and parked in the first place she could find. She immediately went to the ER, and couldn’t help but think she’d been here more times she would’ve liked. First was Declan, then Graham, and now Killian. Emma had seen the inside of an ER before, as a patient, but it didn’t feel better to be a visitor.

Emma saw Graham talking to Dr. Whale, and Emma was struck with the thought that she’d seen this man for a specific reason more times that she would’ve liked.

“Deputy Swan.” Dr. Whale said in the way of a greeting.

“What happened?” Emma asked as she stepped closer to them.

“A mugging gone wrong looks like likely.” Graham told her before addressing Dr. Whale. “Tell her what you told me.”

Dr. Whale added, “Mr. Jones says that a man attacked him before Ms. Meyer interrupted the assault. We’re treating him for fractured ribs and a concussion, as well as a strained ankle.”

“But...is he going to be okay?” Emma asked.

“It may take a few days, but they should recover.” Dr. Whale said. “Just to be safe, I’m going to check on Mr. Jones.” Without another word, Dr. Whale left them.

Emma thought about what she had just heard. He was going to be okay. She kept telling herself that he was going to be okay, but the fear she felt was warring with the anger she felt. Whoever did this was going to pay.

“It’s a hell of a thing.” Graham said somberly. “I leave the hospital, and Killian takes my place.”

“Who called it in?” Emma asked, trying not to think about how many people she knew that were being hospitalized.

“It was an unknown caller.” Graham told her. “Wouldn’t give me his name or address, and I didn’t recognize the voice. He just told me that he saw someone being attacked at the library, and then hung up soon after.”

"That's not suspicious at all." Emma commented dryly. “Any way to trace the call?”

“If it was a landline, yes.” Graham said. “Though if they used a payphone, that’ll be where the trail ends.”

“Maybe not.” Emma said. “Maybe someone saw them using it.”

“Let’s hope so.” Graham said. “Maybe they saw something that Killian and Dada didn’t.”

That’s when Dr. Whale returned. He said, “Mr. Jones is awake now.”

“Really?” Emma asked, her tone more obviously hopeful than she meant it to be.

Dr. Whale nodded. “Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like there’s any bleeding of the brain or brain damage. Mr. Jones also seemed quite adamant that he didn’t want to go to sleep again. He asked if anyone from the police station was here, and when I told him that you two were here, he said that he was ready to speak with Deputy Swan.”

“You mean both of us.” Emma said in correcting tone.

“Nope.” Dr. Whale said with a meaningful look. “He specifically said your name.”

Emma looked at Graham, who clearly understood the implications that wording.

Graham said, “Go ahead. I’ll try talking to Dada again, and I’ll try to see if someone can see where the call was made.”

Without another word, Graham left.

Dr. Whale looked at Emma with a raised eyebrow and asked, “Shall we?”

“Sure.” Emma said, and followed him to Killian’s hospital room.

There, a nurse was trying to convince Killian to rest, and he wasn’t having it.

“I already told you, I’m fine.” Killian protested.

The nurse began to argue with him, but Emma was struck by what he saw. Killian’s left cheek had a black bruise on it, and part of his eye was bruised as well. He winced with every little movement, which Emma guessed were because of the fractured ribs. His prosthetic hand, Emma also noted, was gone, and for the first time she saw his stump.

Emma was relieved to hear that he was awake, and knowing that he _wanted_ to see her made her heart skip a bit.

Finally, Dr. Whale said, “Nurse, Deputy Swan is here to speak with Mr. Jones.”

Both the nurse and Killian turned towards them, though Emma only cared about the way Killian looked at her. Emma was surprised that, despite what happened earlier, he looked happy to see her. However, he did try to hide his stump under the blanket, his expression tinged with self-consciousness.

The nurse and Dr. Whale left, and soon Emma went to stand by Killian’s bedside.

Killian smiled goofily up at her.

“How’re you feeling?” Emma asked.

“I just don’t want to sleep.” Killian said with a slight slur.

“How’s the morphine treating you?” Emma asked.

"I feel gooooood." Killian said with an even goofier smile.

Emma couldn’t help but smile a little. Still, she had a job to do. “Killian.”

“Yes?” He asked eagerly.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She asked.

“I was attacked. By someone.” Killian said slowly. “He had...a pipe and...he smiled...”

“Smiled?” Emma prompted.

“Before the pipe came down.” Killian said, his eyes becoming more distant. “He hit me with it. Said he wanted my wallet, then smiled and hit me. Wait. I said I didn’t have it, then he smiled and hit me.”

Emma worried that the morphine was having too strong an affect on Killian. “Maybe I should come back later.”

“No, wait.” Killian said. His left arm shot out as if to grab her, but it only took a few seconds for him to realize that he didn’t have a left hand. "Where the fuck is my hand?"

“You lost it.” Emma explained.

“How?” Killian asked in disbelief, staring at his stump. “How the fuck does a pipe do that?”

“No.” Emma corrected. “You lost it when...actually, I don’t know. You never told me how that happened.”

Killian looked like his mind had been blown. "Whaaaat?"

Emma couldn’t help but snark, “I know, I’m a little surprised too.”

“Will you still like me even if I don’t have a hand?” Killian suddenly asked, his voice now a touch vulnerable.

"Of course I will." Emma said, taking his left wrist in her hand.

Killian looked up at her with wide sad eyes. "You like me?"

“I do.” Emma said immediately. Despite what she said earlier, about her fears about getting hurt again, she knew that she cared about Killian. It scared her, because it would make any future betrayal even worse, but right now she was too happy that Killian was going to be okay to care.

His face lit up the room with a wide smile. "I'm glad. I was afraid you didn't like me."

"What gave you that idea?" She asked.

“The port.” Killian said before clarifying, “You said not to expect anything.”

Guilt stabbed Emma in the heart.

Before she could anything, Killian continued to talk. “I care about you Emma. I always have. Ever since you got here.”

Emma swallowed hard at his confession.

Killian then said, “All I want is a chance, Emma. I lo-”

Graham came into the room then, his expression serious.

Emma recognized his "sheriff" face. “You got back quick.” She told him.

“I work fast.” He replied before looking at Killian. “How’re you feeling?”

“Emma likes me.” Killian said with a happy smile.

Graham chuckled.

Emma, on the other hand, felt her face grow hot. “So, did you learn anything new?” She asked, hoping to divert the conversation towards business and away from her.

Graham said, “Well, Dada told me everything she could, and I secured the crime scene. We’ll have to make the request for phone records tomorrow. However,” he looked at Killian, “you’ll be happy to know that Dada has volunteered to look after Lady while you’re in here.”

“Good.” Killian said before asking, “Can I leave now?”

“That’s up to the doctor.” Graham said. “Though given your injuries I doubt you’ll be leaving tonight.”

"But I wanna gooooo." Killian whined.

“Don’t worry.” Graham said. “The food’s not that terrible.”

“You’re a shit liar, Graham.” Killian told him. He looked at Emma. “Emma, make them let me leave.”

Emma snorted. "I don't think they'd listen to me."

"They would to." Killian argued. "You're the smartest, most beautiful, powerful, amazing woman ever to exist."

As Emma began to blush furiously, Graham - being an absolute shit - added on a, “I believe Killian is trying to tell you something.”

He earned a jab in the ribs from Emma that had him coughing to cover up a groan of pain, and Emma hoped it left a bruise.

“I think we should go now.” Emma said. When Killian began to protest, she held his wrist in both of her hands. “I’ll come visit tomorrow as soon as I can, okay?”

Killian, despite clearly wanting her to said, simply nodded. Before she could move away, he used his right hand to grab ahold of one of hers. He then brought that hand up to his lips and kissed it.

Her heart fluttered.

Killian sent her a smile that, combined with the drugs, gave him a boyish look as he gently released her hands.

Eventually, Emma and Graham left.

As they entered the elevator, Graham asked with a sly look, “So...did you and Killian share any details?”

Emma glared at him and tried to give him another jab in the ribs. Unfortunately, he managed to evade her with a laugh.

She’d get him for this somehow.

* * *

  _January 12, 2012_

Mary Margaret worried about Killian. She planned on visiting him after school today, as she hadn’t had enough time to visit him in the hospital before school.

She was so relieved to hear from Emma that Killian would be okay.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one, as while the kids were out at recess, Nerissa came in.

“Hi.” Nerissa signed.

“Hi.” Mary Margaret replied.

“How is Killian doing?” Nerissa signed.

“Emma said that he was beaten up, but he’s going to be okay.” Mary Margaret replied.

“Have they found the mugger yet?” Nerissa signed again.

Mary Margaret shook her head. “I think they’re still looking. It’s horrible. He was attacked right by the library.”

“At least he’s okay.” Nerissa replied. “I just hope it doesn’t stop people from going there.”

“I don’t even know if it’s going to be open, at least not for a few days.” Mary Margaret said. “I think Dada is the only employee there besides Killian.”

"I'm sure Killian will get back on his feet soon if he's doing okay." Nerissa answered. She then got a thoughtful look on her face before asking, “How is Henry doing? I know he saw Killian a lot.”

“Worried.” Mary Margaret told her. “He is pretty close to Killian.”

Nerissa nodded. "And Emma?"

“Determined to find out who did this.” Mary Margaret said, thinking about the worry on her roommate’s face when she got back, and especially with the look of fury that slowly began to settle in. “I definitely wouldn’t want to be them when Emma finds them.

Nerissa looked amused at the sentiment.

Mary Margaret then said, “By the way, I was planning on visiting Killian later. Would you like to join me?”

Nerissa shook her head. “I’d love to, but I have to deal with some extra things.”

"Oh?" Mary Margaret asked. “What kinds of things?”

Nerissa just replied, “It’s nothing. Just some personal stuff.”

“Oh, okay.” Mary Margaret said, not wanting to push things further if Nerissa wasn’t comfortable talking about it.

Nerissa was about to sign something else when they heard a commotion in the hall. They looked at each other confusedly before going out to see what the commotion was.

The sixth grade teacher was about to run past them when they waved them over.

“What’s happening?” Mary Margaret asked.

“A dog is loose in the school.” They told the women.

“There is?” Neriss assigned, though Mary Margaret had to translate since the sixth grade teacher didn’t know sign language.

“No one knows how it got in, but- There it is!” They pointed at the end of the hall, where Mary Margaret saw a familiar dog. What was the name? Cooper? No, something that was metallic...it was…

“Copper?” Mary Margaret called out, and immediately the Bloodhound puppy turned his little head towards her.

Copper barked excitedly, and immediately ran over, dodging the hands of the two teachers beside her. He weaved between Mary Margaret’s feet happily.

“Copper, what are you doing here?” Mary Margaret couldn’t help but coo as she bent down to pet the puppy.

“I didn’t know you had a dog.” The sixth grade teacher said.

“I don’t.” Mary Margaret said. “He lives in the shelter. How on earth did you get out?”

Copper just licked her hands.

Mary Margaret giggled before picking him up in her hands. “We should probably call the pet shelter.”

Nerissa nodded. “And get the dog out before the kids-”

The bell rang, signifying that recess was over, and in very little time Mary Margaret found herself surrounded by students. They weren’t even all hers. Some of them were from different grades, and once word spread that there was a dog at school, they flocked to her, each trying to pet the dog at least once.

“You have a dog?” Henry asked as he and his friends were squished by a throng of students.

“He’s not mine.” Mary Margaret said as she held Copper, who seemed both delighted and confused by all of the attention.

"He's so cute!" Paige squealed as she and the rest of Henry’s friends looked at the puppy in awe.

Nick reached a hand over to pet him, and laughed as the puppy licked his fingers.

Soon though, to the students’ eternal disappointment, more teachers and even the principal came along to usher everyone to class, leaving only Mary Margaret’s own students to deal with.

“Everyone inside please.” Mary Margaret said as she ushered her students inside.

“Ms. Blanchard, is this your dog?” The principal asked.

“No, he’s not.” Mary Margaret said for the third time. “He’s a dog from the pet shelter.”

“I see.” The principal said before holding out their hands. “I’ll take him from here.”

Copper, seemingly aware of an impending separation, tried to nestle himself tightly against Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret smoothed her hand over his head.

The principal looked sympathetic, but straightened their back. “The dog is going to be a distraction to the other students.”

“He doesn’t have to be.” Mary Margaret said immediately. Thinking quickly, she added, “He’s only here until whoever’s at the pet shelter can collect him, and we wouldn’t want him to run off.”

“He could stay in my office.” The principal pointed out.

Copper cuddled against Mary Margaret, seemingly whining in protest.

The principal at first looked like they wanted to argue, but eventually just sighed. “Keep your students focused on the lesson. I don’t want to get any phone calls from parents. And whatever mess he makes, you’re cleaning it up.

“Absolutely.” Mary Margaret agreed.

With a final nod, the principal left.

Mary Margaret then looked down at Copper. “Were you looking for me by any chance?”

Copper began to lick the underside of her chin.

Mary Margaret giggled as she pulled away. “Behave yourself.” She told the puppy as she entered the classroom...where she found all of her students staring at her in wonder. Well, staring at the _puppy_ in wonder.

Looks like Copper wasn’t the only one that was going to have to behave.

* * *

 

Killian tried to control his breathing, careful to not aggravate his ribs. They were healing, but the pain was still there. He hardly remembered the previous night, and he had been told that that was a side effect of the morphine...as had been his tendency to babble. Embarrassed at what he could’ve possibly said, Killian had tried to get out of bed, but the pain and the insistence of the hospital staff proved to be too much. They had taken him off the morphine awhile ago, and he hoped that it had left his system.

Even now, he was stuck here with nothing to do.

There was a knock at the door, and he turned his head to find Emma standing by the door of his hospital room.

“Hey.” Emma greeted as her arms were a little too firmly against her sides, wearing a coat that was bigger than what she usually wore. Immediately, Killian knew that she was hiding something under the coat.

“Hey yourself.” Killian said before inviting her to come in. Emma then shut the door behind her before walking to his bed.

Emma began to unzip her jacket, and Killian couldn’t help but say, “Well Swan, I’ve thought of having you in my bed before but not quite like this.”

Killian’s face immediately began to heat up, and he swore to himself that he would never touch a drop of morphine again.

Emma, to her credit, rolled her eyes even as her own cheeks began to pinken, and she merely revealed a paper bag under her shirt. “I brought you some food.”

Face still burning, Killian tried to recover by saying, “I can’t imagine the hospital staff would appreciate that.”

“That’s why I snuck it in.” Emma told him as she set it down on the bedside table, pulling out some food. “Granny and Ruby say feel better.”

“Tell them I said thank you.” Killian said as she also pulled out some jello, which he knew came from the hospital. Feeling heartened by this, Killian softly said, “Thank you, Emma.”

Emma looked at him and nodded, a calm look on her face. “So, I figured since you’re gonna be in the hospital for a while, and going out on a date might not happen for a while, I thought about bringing the date to you.”

This surprised Killian. “A date? I thought after what happened at the docks…”

Emma looked at him in surprise. “Wait. You don’t remember?”

“Remember what?” Killian asked, trying to push away the hurt and embarrassment of what he felt at the docks.

Emma opened her mouth to say something before reconsidering. After a couple of moments, she said, “Killian...I do like you. What I said before...I just got scared. I’m sorry.”

Killian, perhaps emboldened by his assault and by whatever morphine may have remained in his system, couldn’t help but say, “The thing is I still don’t understand why. Have I done anything to make you distrust me?”

“No, I-” Emma stopped herself, forcing herself to maintain eye contact. “While you were on morphine last night, we talked and you said that you didn’t think I like you.” Before Killian could look away in embarrassment, Emma cupped his face to have him look at her. “I do like you Killian. I really do. I just haven’t done this whole dating this with someone in a while, and the last time I did...things didn’t exactly end well.”

“What happened?” Killian asked.

Emma shook her head as she took her hand away, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

Killian bit his lip, looking at the food before sitting up more. “Alright then. Let’s not dwell on the past.” He told Emma as she looked at him. “This is about the present, which includes making sure this food doesn’t go to waste.”

Just then, his stomach growled something fierce.

Emma smirked as she got some utensils and handed him the food. “And that’s where I come in. Bon appetit.”

Killian quickly leaned forward to give Emma a quick peck on the lips. When he began to pull back however, Emma cupped his face in his hands, keeping him in place as they began to languidly kiss.

Or at least they tried to when Emma’s stomach began to growl.

Chuckling as they broke the kiss, Killian said, “I think something’s trying to tell us something.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Emma said as she grabbed her own food. She then got some food, pierced some food with her fork, and then ‘clinked’ it against his own fork. “Cheers.”

Killian smiled as he began to eat. As dates go, this was pretty good.

* * *

_January 13, 2012_

Ray was confident that if he could just get his work done by tonight, he could free himself to devote all of his attention to LJ’s sleepover party tomorrow.

He really hoped that LJ wasn’t serious about wanting a dog. Ever since one somehow got loose from the pet shelter and broke into the school, it was all he could talk about. Ray did his best, but he didn’t think they could afford a dog. What’s more, he wasn’t sure if getting a dog at all would be a good idea. Their apartment was small, and while a puppy might not find much trouble, it would eventually get bigger and make a mess.

Ray just hoped that it was a phase. He already had enough to worry about.

He has just finished printing off a lot of documents for a case when he turned the corner, and bumped into someone hard enough that his papers went flying.

Ray cursed silently, watching his papers cascade to the floor.

“I’m so sorry.” A voice said. “Let me help.”

Ray didn’t look at them, and instead was focused on collecting the papers he could. In his peripheral vision, he saw whoever it was he bumped into grabbing some documents.

It was only when both of them stood to face each other that Ray saw who it was that he bumped into.

Judge Herman.

Immediately, the man’s helpful attitude slowly dissipated and was replaced by wariness, though he did hand Ray the documents that he had picked up.

“Thank you.” Ray said.

Herman eyed him as though Ray would attack him at any moment.

Ray hated what he was about to say, but he unable to give up years of his mother’s attempts to make a polite man out of him. So he asked, “Do you need something?”

“I think you’ve done enough.” Herman said.

This incensed Ray. In court, and every other facet of his life, Herman demanded respect. And now he had the nerve to try to pull this on him.

“If that’s all, Your Honor.” Ray said before attempting to walk away.

The judge grabbed his shoulder.

Now, Ray could probably knock the older man’s hand off like he wanted to, but he was well aware of their power difference. He just had to deal with Herman for a few minutes, he hoped, and then he could get on with his weekend.

Before he could stop himself, Ray snarkily asked, “Are you sure there isn’t something you needed.” He paused before adding, “Your Honor.”

Herman released his shoulder before saying, “As always, you could stop interfering with my family’s life.”

Ray clenched his teeth. “Your Honor-”

Herman didn’t give him a chance to respond, and instead barreled forward. “Why do you hope to get out of this? Helping Sean ruin his chances at a better life by playing family as a teenager?”

He hadn’t been this direct since Ray first came to his door to talk to Sean about contesting Gold’s contract.

So, Ray responded in kind, unable to stop his temper from getting the best of him. “I am helping Sean take care of his responsibilities. It’s not exactly easy when they have no familial support.”

Herman stiffened and glared at Ray, his nostrils flaring. Despite his proud persona, Ray saw some guilt behind his eyes. Herman, however, pushed forward by saying, “Sean has his entire life ahead of him. He could actually make something of himself.”

Ray hated to admit it, but he could understand in part where was coming from. He would want LJ to have a better future. However, the contempt Herman had in him, the condescension towards those he thought was wrong without even considering their point...you’d think a judge would know better.

In a small way, he reminded Ray of his own father. It wasn’t a fair comparison - after all, Ray had hated his father much more - but nonetheless it only caused his temper to flare.

“And Ashley can’t?” Ray shot back. “Ashley and Sean were irresponsible, I will give you that, but they are trying to make the best of it. They’re both trying to account for what they did, unlike you, who kicked out your son for trying to take care of your granddaughter.”

Herman’s cheeks flared red. He shot back, “You think I don’t know why you’re doing this? I know about your cousin, and how she took off because she was young and couldn’t handle a baby. Just because you have a failure in your family doesn’t mean you get to try and make up for it with Sean.”

Ray felt old wounds reopen, and his temper began to nearly overwhelm him. Ray saw red, and before he knew it, he was barely reigning back an explosion. “You don’t know what the _fuck_ you’re talking about.”

Herman's eyes widened at the expletive. Ray wasn’t known for cursing, and especially not in court and in front of a judge.

Ray pushed onward, unable to pull back all of the emotion in his voice. “Autumn left because she couldn’t handle it, and she couldn’t handle it because we had no help. Not from the dad, not from our parents, _nothing_ . So the next time you feel like looking down your nose at my, my family, or _your son and granddaughter,_ think about what it’s like to have to do everything alone.”

Ray ignored Herman as he walked around him, just wanting to get away from the man. He couldn’t be around anyone. He just...he just need some time to cool down. He couldn’t let LJ see him this way.

He needed to get away from it all.

* * *

_Long ago, when they were still children, Percival and Lainey had discovered secret passageways in her father’s castle, with one of them connecting to her father’s solar. The two of them had kept it a secret, as it provided an excellent escape route from their governesses and guards, but as they grew older, they wondered if perhaps they should tell her father. After all, an assassin could just as easily find this passageway and dispatch of the ailing king. In their arrogance, fueled by their desire to have something secret to themselves, they tried to block off all other passageways, save for the one connected between Lainey’s room and the king’s solar._

_It was behind the door of this passageway that Percival and Lancelot hid, peeking through a tiny gap to watch as a guard announced his cousin’s presence to his uncle._

_“Your Majesty, the Princess Elaine.” The guard said._

_“Send her in.” King Pelles said. Percival could hardly remember a time where his uncle was not bound to a wheelchair. The king had suffered a terrible wound on his thigh, and had never fully recovered. Lainey said that sometimes the wound would flare up, and the pain would become so unbearable that his screams could be heard throughout his castle._

_Reportedly, the king earned the wound during a hunting accident. Percival’s father believed that Pelles took comfort in an assassin disguised as a prostitute, and had gelded him after failing to take the man’s life. After all, he never remarried after the death of Lainey’s mother, nor had he taken on a mistress or fathered any children._

Then again, _Percival thought_ , this came from Father, so it’s best not to invest fully in his words.

_However, there were other rumors that the wound inflicted more damage than initially realized, that the king had become more unbalanced as the agonizing pain took hold of him. Percival had heard other rumors, but he just hoped that he was wrong about his suspicions concerning Lainey and Lancelot._

_Lainey appeared before the king, giving a deep bow. “Your Majesty.”_

_“Come, Elaine, come closer.” The king urged. When Lainey came close enough to his wheelchair, he clasped her hands in his. “What troubles you, child?”_

_Lainey hesitated, her expression nervous. “Father, I must be direct. Has Dame Brusen spoken to you about the ball last night?”_

_Percival couldn’t really see the look on his uncle’s face. He did see the old man lift a hand up to cup Lainey’s face, his thumb gently ghosting her cheek._

_“You say you wish to speak directly, and yet you do not say why you wish to know what Dame Brusen has told me.” The king said._

What, not if?, _Percival thought to himself. From the look on Lancelot’s face, he thought the same thing._

_“Elaine, I know why you are here.” The king said to Lainey’s suppressed shock. “If you simply ask me directly, I will answer you.” Percival didn’t think he imagined the waver in the king’s voice._

_Lainey, after some hesitation, explained her worries to the king. She also added what Percival told her Lancelot had said before finally asking, “Did Dame Brusen confess anything to you about what may have happened last night? Did she put something in the food or the wine or-”_

_The king raised a hand to silence her. Percival saw how it shook._

_“My sweet, pure Elaine.” The king said fondly. “You must know that, no matter what comes next, I do love you...but as a king cursed with knowledge as I am, I must set aside my own feelings and wants for the greater good.”_

_“Father, please.” Elaine begged softly. “You asked me to speak directly, now I ask that of you. Do you know of what happened?”_

_The king paused for another moment before saying, “Dame Brusen did nothing I did not order of her.”_

_The world slowed down for Percival, who in his peripheral vision saw Lancelot stiffen._

_Lainey’s face was one of shock, but she composed herself enough to ask. “Father, what did you order of Dame Brusen?”_

_The king said, “When Percival first brought Lancelot here, when he was a mere boy, I knew what he was meant for, of what had to happen. I had hoped that he would grow fond enough of you that he would ask for your hand. Impoverished as he was, he was still of noble birth. I could make the case that he would make a good husband for you...but then I saw that no matter what, he would only see of you as a childhood friend, and you would never pluck up the courage to ask him directly. However, we needed the boy. He is going to save us all, but for that to happen, he needed to come into existence_ now.”

_For some reason, the world slowed down further when Percival heard the word ‘Grail’, but he couldn’t figure out why._

_“What are you talking about?” Lainey asked as dawning horror came over her face, taking a step away from her father. “You...you told Dame Brusen to put something in our food, didn’t you?”_

_“Not the food.” He corrected. “The wine. Just something to allow you two to think your most forbidden dream had come true. For you, it was that Lancelot truly loved you as you loved him. For Lancelot, it was that he could see his beloved Guinevere come to him...isn’t that right, Lancelot?”_

_Both Percival and Lancelot startled in their hidden place, as the king’s tone of voice suggested that he knew they were there._

_It was confirmed when the king said in an utterly calm tone, “I’ve known about that passage for some time now. I’ve kept it open just for this occasion. Do come out now.”_

_Seeing no further point in trying to keep up the charade, Percival and Lancelot existed the passageway. Percival didn’t miss the way that Lancelot’s handheld on tightly to the hilt of his sword. He would have to keep an eye on him. He wasn’t about to let his oldest friend become a kingslayer._

_“Why would you do this?” Lancelot asked with a slowly growing fury and disgust. “Not just to me, but to your own daughter?”_

_“It isn’t about you, or her or even me.” The king said, and only barely winced at the sob that came out of Lainey’s throat. “It’s about the boy. He’ll save us all.”_

_“Do you have any idea of what you’re done?” Lancelot shot back, seemingly barely able to keep himself together._

_“I have secured the future of this kingdom.” The old king said. “The boy-”_

_“Who gives a damn about this boy?!” Percival exploded to the shock of everyone there. Well, everyone except his mad uncle. “What you have done...it is unforgivable.”_

_“It wouldn’t have been necessary if you had asked the question.” The old man said cryptically._

_“What are you talking about?” Percival shot back as he stood before the king._

_The king looked at him with pity. “You don’t remember do you? That summer before you left for Camelot. I brought you here so that you could ask the question. I thought you were the one who...no. It wasn’t to be. I had thought that you had more of your mother in you, but perhaps your father had more influence than I thought.”_

_Percival’s head swam. What was he talking about? Yes, he had come to Corbenic before going to Camelot, but...he just...there was dancing and...he was sitting in front of the key and he asked…_

_“Percival!” Lainey shouted as she and Lancelot kept Percival upright, and it was only then that he realized that he nearly fainted. What was happening to him?_

_“Even now, I am proven correct. All of this could have been avoided if…” The king trailed off sadly as he looked at the three of them. “It is of no matter now.”_

_“What is wrong with this family?” Percival asked blearily._

_“That’s a question to ask of your father.” The king said. “And when you do, mention the name ‘Tor’. He may find himself more amenable to answer.”_

_Percival flushed with anger. “What is to stop us from revealing the truth of your madness?” He threatened._

_“You won’t.” The king said calmly. “How could you explain it? Lancelot and Elaine only slept together, because Lancelot believed he was sleeping with a king’s wife?”_

_Lainey began to cry more in earnest as Lancelot looked guilty at her, before looking away with an ashamed look on his face._

_“Take heart, child.” The king told her. “You may remain here if you wish.”_

_“Why would I ever do that?” Lainey shot back, tears in her eyes and rage in her voice. “I hate you!”_

_Lainey then tried to lunge for her father, only to be held back by Percival. He only did so to prevent Lainey from spending time in a cell for attacking an infirm king. A mad, horrible king, but a king nonetheless._

_“He is not worth it.” Percival told her soothingly. “We’re leaving. All of us.”_

_The king simply nodded as they began to head towards the passageway. Just as they were about to enter, he said, “Elaine?”_

_“What?” She replied angrily._

_“Take care, Elaine.” The king said, not looking at her. “The boy may not be boy here, but he shall be born. I have seen it. And whilst I would prefer for my first grandchild to be born here...the boy will live.”_

_The king’s words brought a new wave of disgust as the three of them realized what that meant. Lancelot even looked at Elaine’s stomach, as if to try and see if the child was growing there._

_“No.” She denied before hiding her face in her hands, a new wave of tears overcoming her. "Oh gods.”_

_Percival looked at his mad uncle as he softly said, his tone suggesting that he was trying to convince himself of his words, “The boy will live, and so shall we all.”_

* * *

LJ was worried. Ray sounded tense on the phone when he told LJ to stay with Ashley and Sean a little while longer. LJ was fine with that, as he really wanted to get his homework done before tomorrow, and hanging out with his friends would only distract him. However, LJ knew that something had really bothered Ray.

There was just something so off in his tone. LJ tried to ask about it, but Ray said that he was fine and just needed to do something.

That didn’t exactly strike confidence to LJ.

Ashley came over just then, and LJ say that Alexandra was being fed by Sean.

“What’s on your mind?” Ashley asked him.

“Nothing.” LJ denied.

Ashley gave him that look that adults always give whenever a kid was being evasive. Honestly, it reminded him a little too much of Ray to be comfortable.

So, LJ opted for the truth, or at least something that could lead to it. “Do you know what’s happening with Ray?” He asked.

“No.” Ashley said as she shook her head.

LJ's shoulders slumped.

“Hey.” Ashley said gently as she rubbed her back. “I’m sure it’s no big deal.”

“I think it is.” LJ said as an uncomfortable thought bubbled to the surface, as he began to remember the other times Ray needed some time alone.

“How come?” Ashley asked.

“Sometimes...he gets like this when he thinks about my parents.” LJ said. “He barely talks about them, but...a few times it got bad around my birthday, but he’s never just decided to not come back home.” LJ, suddenly feeling insecure and in need of reassurance, asked, “He is coming back though, right?"

“Of course he is.” Ashley told him.

Still, doubt lingered in LJ's mind, and against his will, he thought about the stories he heard about his parents. He’d been about five when he finally became bold enough to ask his uncle why he didn’t have a mommy and a daddy like other kids did. Oh, he’d been curious before, but it hadn’t mattered to him. All he had known was Ray, and that was all he had needed. But then other kids pestered him with questions about why Ray wasn’t his daddy, or why his _real_ daddy or mommy didn’t pick him up from school.

Ray had told him how LJ’s biological parents left him in their care, which inevitably led to LJ asking when they would be back.

LJ never forgot the sad look on Ray’s face, or the looks that would follow whenever he’d be thinking about LJ’s birth parents.

Eventually, LJ learned the truth. His parents left town because they couldn’t handle being parents, because he was too much to deal with. Of course, that’s not how Ray put it. He had said that they were young and scared, but LJ knew that it was because the he was too much for them.

Ray had been with him since he was a baby. He wouldn’t just leave like they had...right?

LJ banished the thought from his mind. He wouldn't abandon him. Not like…

LJ looked at Ashley, who in turn was casting loving looks at Sean and Alexandra.

“She’s getting really big.” LJ commented.

Sean smiled proudly at his 10-week-old baby. "She certainly is."

“How long until she starts crawling?” LJ asked.

“It depends.” Sean answered as he began burping the baby. “Maybe when she’s about six months at least. The baby book said it happens when babies are between six and ten months.”

Alexandra gave a loud burp, causing LJ to unintentionally laugh.

When Sean was finished wiping the baby’s mouth, he came over to sit with Ashley and LJ, passing Alexandra off to Ashley.

Sean then told LJ, “Look, whatever’s happening with your uncle, I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”

LJ shrugged. He then thought about asking something, and at first he was hesitant to ask. However, the need became too much, so he asked Sean and Ashley, “Were you guys scared? When you were going to have Alexandra, I mean.”

His question clearly caught them by surprised, and he worried that he made them feel embarrassed.

Ashley and Sean looked at each other.

Ashley said, “It was hard. We had...problems, but we managed to work them out.” Ashley then looked at LJ. “It hasn’t been easy, but your uncle’s been a massive help.”

“Yeah.” Sean said. “I mean, we didn’t really have an idea about what we were doing, but we’re learning.”

“I think you’re doing fine.” LJ told them. They were certainly trying more than his own parents, not that he'd mention that. “I mean, you guys works and take care of Alexandra. I think you’ll be fine.”

Sean and Ashley smiled at him, with Sean even saying, “You know, you’re a pretty cool kid.”

LJ smirked. “You know it.”

Both Sean and Ashley rolled their eyes at him.

“You want to hold her?” Ashley offered.

LJ agreed. Alexandra was heavy in his hands, but he could handle it. LJ meant what he said. If what he saw was anything to go by, Alexandra and her parents would be just fine.

* * *

Henry was worried about Killian. He’d visited him at the hospital, and Killian tried to play off his injuries, but that just put Henry on the edge. Why did everyone have to lie about being okay when they clearly weren’t?

Why did adults have to make things so complicated?

“Henry, you still in there?” Declan asked as he approached Henry. They were playing at what used to be his castle, in lieu of going to the library. It was closed until Killian got back. Well, everyone except LJ, who for some reason had to stay with Ashley and Sean for a little longer.

Henry blinked, his focus shifting to Declan. “What’s up?”

“You’ve just been kind of staring into space.” Declan told him, looking at the others who were playing, but were also casting glances their way.

“Sorry.” Henry said.

Declan looked down at Henry, who was sitting on the ground with the book in his lap, and sighed. “You read that thing all the time. Why don’t you just play with us for a little bit?”

Henry wanted to play, but figuring out how to break the curse was important.

Declan then said, “Come on, let’s play,” before trying to take the book out of Henry’s lap.

Henry instinctively held it closer to him. “No.” He said.

“Just put the book down.” Declan said.

“I said no.” Henry told him. “You’d get mad at me if I did that with _Lords of the Rings_.”

Declan looked offended. “Hey, that book is a literary masterpiece. One of the reviews in the book backs me up on it.”

"And this book will help us break the curse!" Henry protested.

“Not if your eyes stop working because you read it so much.” Declan shot back.

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Henry argued.  

“And neither does the curse.” Declan told him.

Immediately, Henry felt hurt, though he tried to cover it up by standing up and facing Declan. The hurt Henry felt at Declan's words was instant, but he pushed it aside, standing up to face Declan. "The curse is real!"

“No, it’s not!” Declan shouted back. “This isn’t all a fairytale and your mom isn’t a queen, but I agree - she can be pretty fucking evil.”

“You said you would help me.” Henry told him.

“I said I would help you figure out who matched in your book.” Declan said. “You know I never believed in this stuff.”

Henry knew that, but that didn't make the words sting any less. Henry also knew that he was doing a poor job at hiding it.

Declan seemed to only then realize what he had said, and sighed. “Henry-”

Henry didn’t listen. He just grabbed his bag and took off.

“Henry!” Declan called out, and he heard Declan chasing after him.

Henry was hurt. He wasn’t ready or willing to listen to him.

* * *

In all the time he’d known Ray, David didn’t take him for a daytime drinker, at least not one that drank alone. But there he was, sitting alone in the Rabbit Hole at the counter, nursing a drink in front of him.

It was a worrying sight.

Through word of mouth, he had heard about the fight between Ray and Judge Herman. At first, he hadn’t believed it. Ray didn’t seem like someone who would lose his cool easily, but then he found Ray at the Rabbit Hole, so now he wondered just what could’ve caused this.

David went to stand next to Ray, who cast a glance at him before looking away ashamedly. From the looks at it, this wasn’t Ray’s first drink.

“Hey.” David said.

“Hey.” Ray replied. He didn't seem to want company.

Still, David couldn’t just leave him like this. “Maybe we should take a walk, just to get some air?” He offered lamely.

“Now’s not a good time, David.” Ray told him.

David felt the need to tread carefully. “I, uh, heard about the fight with Judge Herman.”

“Of course you did.” Ray scoffed, before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, “Fucking small towns.”

David bit his lip. “Whatever’s going on...you can talk to me about it, you know.”

Ray said nothing, his shoulders tensing. He then took his drink and knocked it back, wincing as it probably burned against his throat. “Fine, let’s go.” He said throwing down some money before getting up. He paused a moment, as if to make sure he could stay up on his own two feet, before exiting the bar.

Eventually, they walk to a place outside the bar where no one was lurking around, and leaned against the wall. Ray still wasn’t looking at him, and that just worried David more.

After a while, Ray gave a compact version of the fight between him and Judge Herman, and had a pissed off look on his face. And then Ray told him what Judge Herman had said about his family.

David grimaced. “Oh...shit.” Was all he could say.

“Where the hell does he get off criticizing my family when he…” Ray scoffed. “Sometimes he reminds me of my own damn father. And my uncle too.” Ray then shook his head. “No. My dad was a self-absorbed jackass and my uncle...he always thought he was right. Didn’t care what that did to the rest of us.”

This was the most David had ever heard about Ray’s family, and from what he heard, they didn’t live in Storybrooke. “Where are they now?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Dead, both of them.” Ray said. “So is my mom, and my uncle’s wife.”

“I’m...I’m so sorry.” David said, suspecting something for a while, but the confirmation still coming as a shock to him.

“Don’t be.” Ray said, the words tumbling out of him. “My dad and I were never close. My mom was the one that actually bothered to raise before she died, and my dad drank and slept his way to an early grave. My uncle’s wife died when Autumn was born, and my uncle died a while ago.”

“Autumn?” David asked, the name sounding familiar.

“My cousin.” Ray said. “LJ’s mom.”

David made an ‘Ah’ sound.

“Yeah.” Ray said with a waver in his voice before he cleared his throat. David thought he smelled some of the alcohol on his breath. “Sometimes it just felt like the only family I had was Autumn, and Vincent.” He then clarified that Vincent was LJ’s dad.

“What happened to them?” David asked.

Ray looked at him, biting his lip before he released it. He said, “Vincent and I had been friends since we were kids. Autumn…” Ray shook his head. “Autumn had a massive crush on him. I tried to set her straight. I tried to tell her that Vincent didn’t feel the same way but...one day I find out they slept together. Neither had a good reason for it, it just happened. Then Autumn found out she was pregnant, and everything went downhill from there. Vincent left town, and Autumn...she was gone too.” Ray took in a shaky breath as he looked away. “And there I was, left with a baby whose parents were gone. It had just been the three of us for years, and then it just...all went to shit.” Ray’s voice was quiet and full of pain at the end.

Ray chuckled bitterly. “I mean, I had my own dreams too. I had things I wanted to do. But then that’s how it always went. People fucked up and it was my job to clean up their mess. And then my god, so many people gave me shit for not keeping things together, or they looked at LJ like...like it was his fault that his parents left, or that there was something wrong with him. My so- he is a good kid. He is a damn good kid, but now someone like Judge Herman comes along, preaching to me about interfering with his family when he won’t take up his own responsibility to help out his son and granddaughter. Give me a break.”

David whistled lowly as he took it all in. He knew that Ray was stressed, but he had no idea that it was this bad. Had he just been bottling this all in? What the hell could he even say to that?

Ray just sighed and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just lay this all out to you."

“No, it’s fine.” David told him sincerely. “It’s like I said inside - you can talk to me.”

Ray looked at David uncertainty. He said, “I haven’t seen Autumn or Vincent since. No phone calls, no postcards, nothing. It’s like they vanished, and all I have to remember them by is LJ.” Ray then said, “I try. I try so hard to set a good example. I want LJ to be better than this. I want him to be better than what his parents or I were, but sometimes I feel like I’m going to explode.”

David couldn't believe it. How could two people could ignore the existence of their own child? He knew about Declan’s parents, but he had naively hoped that that was just an isolated incident. Sadly though, that wasn’t the case. He knew that Ray had overworked himself, but he had no idea just how much of a toll it was taking on him.

He couldn’t imagine abandoning his own child.  

There had to be something David could do to help.

Ray then said, “Look, I’m not gonna lie. It’s hard. It’s hard to talk to people like Judge Herman, or to see this kind of thing play out again with Ashley and Sean. It’s hard to be a parent and have to support a kid. But I love LJ. I’m grateful every day to have LJ in my life, but that doesn’t I’ve forgotten how it started off.”

David paused, trying to formulate a response before settling on, “Look...I’m not a parent, and maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but you’re doing a great job.”

Ray didn’t look convinced.

“It’s true.” David insisted. “I mean you’re a lawyer, and you’ve been looking after him by yourself for, what, thirteen years now? He’s a polite and respectful kid, and that’s because of you. No matter what else happened, you did the right thing by him. That’s got to count for something.”

Ray sighed, but it looked like some of the tension left him.

David took that as a sign to continue. “If there’s anything you need, anything at all, just call me and I will help. You’re my friend Ray. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

Ray looked at him before giving him a shaky smile. "Thanks, David."

“No problem.” David said.

Ray then looked a little embarrassed. “Can we take a walk? Maybe the air will clear my...I really don’t want to stumble home drunk.”

David smiled. “Sure. Let’s get moving.” David said, and the two of them began to walk around, David absolutely ready to keep his promise to help.

* * *

_Percival held Lainey’s hand as she let out a grunt of pain. “Remember what the midwife said. Breathe.” Percival told her._

_“I_ am _breathing.” Lainey glared at him._

_Percival grimaced. “Sorry.” He said as the two of them began walking around her room. “Where is that midwife?”_

_“I don’t- Ah!” Lainey cried out in pain._

_“There you go.” Percival soothed. “You are well.”_

_After the contraction passed, Lainey began to cry again. “This is all my fault.”_

_“No, it is not.” Percival told her._

_“Yes it is.” Lainey said. “If I had never told my father about Lancelot, then- Ah!” Lainey once again cried out as another contraction hit. “Where is that midwife?”_

_“I don’t know.” Percival said. “I’m going to look for her.”_

_“No, no, don’t leave.” Lainey begged of him._

_“I’ll be right back.” Percival promised. “Stay here.”_

_Percival then left her room in search of the midwife, and he soon he heard the sounds of a commotion in the courtyard, near Merlin’s tree. Although he did not wholly explain their plight, Arthur and Guinevere had been most accomodating in allowing Percival to house Lainey in their castle. At least, at the start. Arthur eventually got more out of him, and after learning of some of what Pelles had done, he felt compelled to shield them from the king._

_Not that Percival’s uncle had done anything to compel them to come back, just as Percival’s own father had done nothing._

_As for Lancelot...well they occupied the same castle, but he and Lainey could no longer bear to be in the same room as each other. Despite the commonality they shared as Pelles’ victims, whatever friendship they once shared was now irreparably damage._

_That was the past, and the present was equally concerning, because as soon as Percival got a full view of the court, he found utter chaos._

_Arthur was arguing with one of his queenly sisters, Morgana. Like Arthur, she had dark hair and blue eyes, and the same reddish lips. Her straight dark hair reached to her shoulders, and it moved around as she and Arthur struggled over something._

_Was...was that the gauntlet? The very one that Arthur hoped would help him make Excalibur whole? What in the world was she doing with that?_

_“Give it back!” Arthur demanded - no,_ pleaded _\- of his sister. “Please, Morgana-”_

_“No!” Morgana said. “It will bring ruin to the realm, and to you!”_

_“It will_ save _the realm!” Percival heard Arthur say before he quickly made his way to the courtyard. By the time he got there, he saw one of his fellow knights attempt to take the gauntlet from Morgana._

_Morgana waved her arm, and the knight, Percival, and all others were knocked on their backs._

_Percival looked up and saw that Arthur and Morgana both had their hands on the gauntlet, and were fiercely fighting for control over it._

_“Arthur!” Guinevere called out as she held onto her daughter, the Princess Violet._

_“Stay back!” Arthur ordered her._

_Morgana kept a tight hold of the gauntlet with one hand as she threw something against the ground near them, and Percival watched in awe and horror as Morgana began to_ open _something in the ground. Percival watched as the ground opened up, and to Percival it looked like a whirlpool of pure magic was opening in the courtyard._

_Percival looked at Morgana’s outstretched right hand, as if she was the one summoning it, and saw that her hand was bleeding. He walked closer, that blast of magic having disoriented him too much to run, and to him it looked like the middle of her hand was parting open in the pattern of a star._

_It was a wonder she wasn’t screaming in pain._

_“What is happening?” Lainey asked, and Percival saw that she was waddling behind him, her face scrunched in pain._

_“Keep back!” Percival said, regaining his senses enough to draw his sword and go forward._

_There he saw Morgana attempting to pull the gauntlet and Arthur into what Percival thought was a portal with her._

_And Arthur was losing._

_Guinevere somehow made her way to the courtyard, and she picked up a rock and threw it at the back of Morgana’s head. Morgana was so focused on sending another wave of energy, trying to push away Percival, that the rock easily made hit her on back of the head. Morgana instinctively let go of the gauntlet to cradle the back of her, and another wave of wagic - that she intended for Percival - ended up causing destruction to a nearby walkway._

_“Lainey!” Percival screamed as the walkway just happened to be what Lainey was standing under, and he watched as the debris was about to crush her._

_Lainey was suddenly catapulted forward by unnatural forces, and Percival managed to catch her. They tumbled, and Percival realized that it was Morgana who managed to save her. Percival’s sword was still in his hand, so he lifted it up as a warning to her as he helped Lainey up._

_“Percival! Lainey!” Percival heard Lancelot shout, and he saw his friend running towards him._

_“Get back!” Arthur shouted as she urged Lancelot to walk backwards. “Morgana!”_

_Percival turned his head, and he saw Morgana, with great shock and surprise, fall into the portal._

_“No!” Arthur shouted as he tried to reach his sister, regardless of what she had done, but Guinevere held him back._

_Percival then saw as the portal began to wildly expand, and he barely got himself and Lainey to stand up before it opened under their feet as well. Percival held on tightly to Lainey as the earth disappeared under his feet, and they dropped into the portal. The last thing Percival saw before the portal closed above their heads was Lancelot reaching a hand out to grab them, and the world became dark._

_Someone was pulling his arm. It was still dark, but someone was saying something._

_“Help!” Someone shouted in pain. Another tug of his arm. “Someone please help!”_

_Percival managed to open his eyes, and instead of the courtyard of Camelot, he saw a forest surrounding him. His head was pounding, but he turned his head enough to see Lainey tugging on his arm, sweaty and her cheeks flushed red with exhaustion._

_Lainey saw that Percival was awake, and dropped his arm with a breath of relief. “Percival, thank the gods.”_

_Percival shakily stood up, and noticed that she was also carrying his sword in her other hand. “What happened?” He asked as he took the sword from her, and sheathing it before he wrapped an arm around her waist to support her. “Where are we?”_

_“I don’t know.” Lainey said pained, her knees nearly buckling underneath her as another contraction hit. When it passed, she said, “I woke up, and Morgana wasn’t here. I’ve no idea where- AH!” Lainey screamed in pain as another wave hit._

_Percival waited until it passed before picking him up in her arms, trying to be mindful of her swollen stomach. He picked a direction, and he began to run as much as he could without jostling Lainey. The baby was coming, and it was coming_ now.

_“Help!” Lainey screamed, and then took a moment to try to breathe as Percival also began screaming for help. Ho did not know how to deliver a baby, and he feared for her life and the child’s if they didn’t find someone soon. Lainey’s mother, as well as his own, had an army of midwives and attendants, and they still-_

_“Who’s there?!” Someone shouted, bringing Percival to a halt. There he found an old man, along with a group of people, standing several feet away, watching Percival and Lainey in confusion._

_“My cousin, she is about to have a child.” Percival said as he walked towards them._

_Lainey cried in pain, her face sweaty and pained._

_“Bring her here.” The old man said, and very soon the group escorted them to a nearby village, where Lainey was soon crying and screaming with newfound vigor once her body hit the bed._

_“I’m going to die.” Lainey grunted out._

_“You will not die.” Percival told her as he held her hand, watching as his cousin - now clothed in only her underclothes - was being attended to by an unfamiliar midwife that the village had._

_“You’re nearly there.” The midwife assured her. “Now, push!”_

_Lainey groaned as she did as the midwife bid her, and Percival rubbed her back as she crushed his hand._

_More instructions from the midwife, more pushes, and Lainey began to lose more energy. At one point, she vomited into a rusty bin, and began to look weaker._

_“The head is out.” The midwife announced hours later, and Lainey was sagging against Percival._

_“You hear that?” Percival said encouragingly. “It won’t be long now.”_

_Lainey mumbled something indistinguishable, and Percival hadn’t been this scared since his own mother’s death._

_“You’re doing fine.” The midwife told her. “Just a few more pushes.”_

_“I’m so tired.” Lainey cried._

_“Once this is all over, we’ll make you some tea.” The midwife smiled at her. “Ah, the little babe’s ready to come out. They just need some help.”_

_“Just a few more?” Lainey asked in a quiet, vulnerable voice._

_“Just a few more.” The midwife promised. “Now get ready to push. And...push!”_

_Lainey summoned up the strength to push. And push and push and push, and then-_

_A baby gave a healthy cry, and Lainey began to sob in relief._

_“It’s a boy.” The midwife said as she wrapped the infant in a blanket before handing the baby to Lainey, who held him in her weak arms._

_As the midwife tied some thread tightly against the umbilical cord, Percival said, “Thank you, thank you so much.” They were alive. Lainey and the baby were alive. Percival looked down at the squalling newborn, and thanks the gods as well._

_“Thank my by cleaning the babe.” The midwife said as she handed him a cloth._

_Percival took the cloth after carefully laying Lainey down on her back, and began to wipe the baby. Now that everything had calmed down, he finally managed to say, “I must find some way to thank you. Tell me what land this is, and when I return home, I will send anything you wish you.”_

_“Big promises, sir.” The midwife smirked before she said, “This realm is called the Enchanted Forest.”_

_“The Enchanted Forest?” Percival asked, not recognizing the name._

_“Mhmm.” The midwife confirmed. “Sorry, in all of the confusion, I never asked for your name.”_

_“Percival.” He answered._

_The midwife seemed surprised. “Your parents had high aspirations for you, did they? Must’ve worked out, what with that fancy sword and all.”_

_“What do you mean?” Percival asked as he watched the midwife took some scissors in hand._

_“Sir Percival, like the legends.” The midwife said. Before Percival could ask another question, she said, “You want to cut the cord, or should I?”_

_Before he could answer, Lainey said, “Percival should do it.”_

_Percival started, “Lainey, I-"_

_“It should be you.” She said as firmly as her weak voice could._

_Percival did as she bid him, and cut the cord._

_Not a moment afterwards, Lainey chuckled bitterly as she held on to her son. “He was right. About the boy. My damn father was right.”_

_Percival didn’t understand. “Lainey, what-”_

_“Oh no.” The midwife said, and Percival looked down as blood, too much blood, began to leave Lainey’s body._

_“He was right.” Lainey said as Percival began to panic once again, and the midwife called for help outside. Even as he went to her, to comfort her, Lainey just stared at the ceiling above with a vacant look in her eyes, whispering out grimy, “He was right about how this would be. How this will end.”_

* * *

_January 14, 2012_

LJ knew about the fight between Henry and Declan yesterday. Oh, neither of them told him, and instead opted for glaring at each other. It was Ava, Nick, and Paige that clued LJ in. He had tried to settle things down, but neither of them was willing to be the first to step up.

Ugh.

“Hey LJ?” Henry asked.

“Yeah?” LJ replied as they watched the others try to figure out which movie they were gonna watch.

“If you had to guess, who do you think you would be?” Henry asked.

“From your storybook?” LJ asked for clarification, though he knew that, given what happened yesterday, he’d have to tread carefully.

“Well, yeah.” Henry said.

LJ shrugged. "A peace keeper?" At least that’s what he could hope for. Maybe he could figure out how to get Henry and Declan to just knock it off already. He understood both sides. Like Declan, he didn’t believe that the curse was real, but he knew that Henry was hurt by the way Declan went about it.

Henry thought on it but shook his head. “Maybe you are a knight.”

LJ sighed. “Henry I already told you. I’m not a knight.”

“How can you be sure you’re not?” Henry asked.

“How can you be sure I am?” LJ argued.

At LJ's tone, Henry deflated, obviously unwilling to start an argument with another friend.

LJ, feeling bad over Henry’s depressed look, then said, “Well...maybe I’m a farmhand or just someone in the background. After all, not everyone here can just one of the big heroes, right?”

Henry shrugged. "I guess you're right."

LJ knew that hadn’t done as much as he hoped. So, he tried for optimissism. “Hey it’ll be fine. We’ll watch a movie, eat some popcorn, stay up way later than usual. It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah.” Henry said. "What movie are we watching?"

“We’re still figuring it out.” Paige responded before she held up two movies. “It’s between _The Princess Bride_ and _Jumanji_.”

“Wait, you’re thirteen now, right?” Nick asked. “Why can’t we watch a PG-13 movie?”

“I can.” LJ said. “You guys can’t. At least not with Ray here.”

“What was that?” Ray asked from another room.

“Nothing, just deciding.” LJ quickly said.

“It’s your birthday.” Ava said. “You should decide.”

 _Oh, great_ , he thought. “Um...let’s go with _The Princess Bride._ ”

“Cool. I’ve never seen this movie.” Paige said as she put it in the player. “What’s it about?”

“You’ll see.” LJ said. “It’s got some pretty good lines. Like what the bald guy keeps saying...what is it?”

Just then, without meaning two, both Henry and Declan shouted, “Inconceivable!” They then looked at each other in surprise before looking away bitterly.

It was...awkward to say the least.

“Let’s watch it then.” Paige said as she started the movie.

Declan went to turn off the lights before sitting back down. LJ didn’t miss the fact that Henry and Declan were seated far apart from each other.

This was just great. Maybe the movie would put everyone in a good mood.

It got to the point where Inigo Montoya appeared on the screen, and without meaning too, Henry and Declan began clapping in excitement. Again, once they realized what they were doing together, they both stopped.

LJ could always _hope_ that the mood would be improved.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats during Inigo's duel with the masked man.

Paige even jumped when Inigo pushed the masked man against a collapsing wall.

It was getting intense.

When the masked man threw the sword, Nick started, “What?! Why would you-” then the masked man flipped around and landed next to the floor with a flare. Nick then said, “...well okay.”

It was only after the masked man knocked Inigo out that they all released the breaths they had been holding.

“I’m glad he’s not dead.” Paige commented. “I kind of like Inigo.”

As the movie progressed, and the heroes succeeded, cheers went up around the room.

“Now, kiss.” Ava said as Wesley and Buttercup kissed for the final time on screen. As the credits rolled, they all applauded.

“That was a good movie.” Paige said. “I really liked it.”

"It has everything too!" LJ said. "Heroes, villains, action, comedy...."

"Wuv twu wuv." Declan batted his eyes at LJ.

“And wuv, twue wuv, will fowwow you foweva.” LJ said with a pouty lips.

The two of them collapsed into giggles.

Everyone was in a good mood.

“Let’s go with _Jumanji_ next.” LJ said as he got up to refill the popcorn. Everyone was brushing away candy wrappers and rolling out their sleeping bags so that they could sit on them.

In the kitchen, LJ found Ray there, already making some more popcorn.

“How’s it going?” Ray asked.

“Really good.” LJ said.

“Well don’t worry.” Ray said. “Once I make more popcorn, you won’t see me for the rest of the night.”

“Okay.” LJ said with a smile before asking, “Are you feeling better? About what happened yesterday?”

“I think so.” Ray said. The microwave beeped, and Ray took the popcorn out. He only mildly winced at the hot temperature of the bag as he opened it, and then poured it in a bowl. “If you need anything-”

“I can come to you, I know.” LJ said.

“Night LJ.” Ray said as he went into his room.

“Night Ray.” LJ said, watching his uncle disappear into his room.

“LJ, come on, the movie’s about to start.” Henry said, and LJ noticed that, however minute the difference, he and Declan were seated a little closer to each other now.

“Coming.” LJ said as he brought the bowl over, sitting down between his friends as the movie started.

All in all, this was probably the best birthday party he’d ever had.

* * *

_Lainey was getting worse. It had barely been a day since she gave birth to a healthy son, and she was sweating, her face losing color, and she was barely awake half the time. Even without the wisdom of the midwife they had acquired, Percival knew what was happening._

_It was childbed fever. It was the same illness that killed Percival’s mother, and to his horror, it now threatened to take away his only cousin._

_It was taking her away from her son._

_Percival did not need the midwife or the other villagers to tell him what was coming. So there he sat next to Lainey, who lied almost deathly still in the bed she had given birth in. Nearby, in an old bassinet that one of the villagers loaned them, was Lainey’s newborn son, sleeping peacefully. Completely unaware of the fact that his mother was dying._

_“Percival?” Lainey asked weakly, her eyes fluttering open._

_“What is it?” Percival asked as he held her hand._

_“This is a different world, isn’t it?” She asked. “They think...we’re not real.”_

_“No, they don’t.” Percival answered. It made no sense to him. How had they gotten there? Well, the obvious answer was Morgana, but no one had seen her. But that only raised more questions. Morgana was a queen, not a witch, or so he had believed. Why had she done all of this?_

_Whatever the reason, if he ever got his hands on her, he may very forsake his vows of chivalry to cut her down. The midwife said that stress only aggravated the birth, so if Lainey...if she died, Morgana was in part to blame._

_“My father spoke of such things.” Lainey said in a bitter voice, though her eyes remained unfocused. “Of other worlds, when I was young.” Lainey then sighed. “Old bastard was right about everything, wasn’t he?”_

_Percival didn’t know how to respond._

_Lainey then turned her head towards Percival, but she still couldn’t seem to focus her gaze on him. “My son, how is he?”_

_“He’s a strong boy.” Percival said in a rough voice before clearing his throat._

_Lainey’s face nearly collapsed, but she managed to keep her composure. “He’s the only good thing to come out of this travesty.” She said with wet eyes. “No, not the only good thing. You’ve proven, once again, that you are a true friend and loving cousin.” Lainey’s breathing became more laborious._

_“You should rest.” Percival said._

_“No.” Lainey said. “If I rest, I will not awaken again.”_

_“Lainey-” Percival began to protest._

_“You must look after him.” Lainey pleaded. “After I am gone-”_

_“You will not-” Percival began to say._

_“I will.” Lainey said with finality. “And when I do, I ask that you train him. I ask that you keep him safe, especially from my father. My father...if he gets his hands on him, he will twist up that beautiful baby, and he won’t even realize it.” Lainey began to sob._

_“I will, I promise I will.” Percival said, his voice wavering and his eyes filling with tears. “But please Lainey...please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me alone in this place.”_

_“You won’t be alone.” Lainey said. “You’ll have each other.” Lainey’s eyes fluttered close, and for a heartstopping moment, her breathing stopped._

_“Lainey.” Percival said softly, squeezing her hand, feeling himself grow weak. “Lainey? Lainey, no, please. Please no. Lainey, Lainey I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know his name.”_

_Lainey opened her eyes again with a shuddering breath, only giving Percival a temporary sense of relief, as he knew that the end was near. Lainey looked at him again, and whispered “Come closer.”_

_When Percival leaned forward, and Lainey whispered her son’s name in his ear. When he pulled back, Lainey took in as many deep breaths as she could, which wasn’t many._

_Finally, Lainey’s eyes focused on him. “I don’t need my father’s to know what’s coming. I’m don’t want to die, but I know I’m going to.” She then looked at him, with tears slowly streaming down her face. “I’m sorry I keeping asking, but can I beg of you one last promise?”_

_“Anything.” Percival said._

_Lainey, who was also in tears, begged, “Stay with me. Please.”_

_“Of course.” Percival said before he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “Anything for you.”_

_Soon after, Lainey drifted off to sleep. One she would never wake from. In the moments when Percival realized that Lainey’s breath had stopped, and had realized that her heart had stopped as well, he began to weep. He began to plead with her to stay, to beg that she live again, but his prayers went unanswered._

_The newborn Lainey died giving birth to began to cry as well, though Percival doubted that he was aware that his mother was gone._

_Percival dragged himself from his place next to her, and went over to the bassinet to pick up the newborn, trying to control his crying as he did so._

_“It is alright.” He said, trying to rock the crying newborn, trying not to look at the body of his cousin. “It will be alright.” Perhaps if he said it enough, it would come true. After clearing his throat once more, Percival tried to show a steady voice, tried to show some semblance of peace as everything began to sink into his mind. The name of Lainey’s son came forward in his mind, and he would be sure to tell the boy of his mother when he was old enough. When he was old enough, he would tell him of the pain that had come before, but that would not be for some time._

_Percival continued to gently rock the now whimpering newborn as he swore, “I promise...whatever you need, you need only to come to me...Galahad.”_

* * *

It was late at night, long after visiting hours, but Killian couldn’t sleep. The only good news he had to look forward to was that, to the surprise of the doctors, Killian was healing much faster than they thought he would. He would likely be allowed to leave tomorrow.

If so, he was quite interested to track down whoever it was that tried to mug him. He was at least comforted by the fact that no one else was hurt, and that Dada had taken care of Lady.

He might just give her a raise. She certainly deserved it, especially for chasing that mugger off.

Just then, he heard his hospital room door close. He turned his head, expecting a doctor or a nurse, but instead finding an unsure-looking 14-year-old girl.

“Phoebe?” Killian questioned.

“Hi.” She said, and he noticed that she was wearing a backpack.

“How did you get in here?” Killian asked.

Phoebe shrugged. “I have my ways.”

Killian nodded, though that didn’t exactly reassure him. He wondered if perhaps Walter the security guard fell asleep again. If so, then he doubted that Lea was here today. If she had been, he rather doubted that Phoebe could get in.

Regardless, he had to ask, “Why are you here?”

Phoebe stepped closer. “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

Killian said, “I’m touched, but you could visit during visitor hours.”

Phoebe once again shrugged, but she looked a little more uncertain now as she stepped closer to stand next to his bed. “Any idea when you’ll be out?”

“The day after tomorrow I believe.” Killian told her.

“That’s cool.” Phoebe said. Her eyes drifted down, and that’s when Killian realized that she was looking at his stump. She didn’t seem disgusted, but rather surprised.

Still, Killian hid his stump under the blankets. He had thought he would be alone for the night, so he had taken off his prosthetic hand.

Phoebe looked at his prosthetic hand, which rested on a bedside table, before looking back up at him. "Does that hurt?" She asked him.

“Sometimes.” He replied. “It’s just phantom pains.”

“What happened?” She impulsively asked before look abashed at herself. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me.”

Killian was used to people asking him by now, but her embarrassed look made him want to put her at ease. “It’s alright.” He told her. “I was by the docks, and there was an accident.”

Phoebe winced. "Must've been some accident."

“Yes it was.” Killian agreed. “Took my head clean off. Been living with that prosthetic ever since.”

"That sucks." Phoebe's nose wrinkled.

Killian chuckled at the brutal honesty of youth. “I’ve learned to live with it. Speaking of, how have things been going? I haven’t seen you around since I caught you by the garbage...and you still haven’t explained that either.”

Phoebe looked nervous. “I’ve been busy. And I told you, I was looking for a store.”

“Phoebe.” Killian said sternly. “I know you’re lying, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lie to me again.”

Phoebe paused before saying, “I just needed to get out of the convent, you know. It gets kind of boring being stuck there or stuck at school, with only nuns and Mai to talk to. I mean, I love Mai, and I’m grateful to the nuns and all, but sometimes I just need time alone, you know?”

That was something that he understood perfectly well.

“Please don’t tell Mother Superior.” Phoebe told him. “If she finds out I snuck out, she’s going to make be one of the nuns.”

Killian nearly chuckled at the exaggerated tone of voice, but just managed not to. “I won’t say anything...as long as you don’t do it again.”

Phoebe deflated. “But-”

“You’re fourteen and walking alone at night.” Killian pointed out. “I’m a grown man and I was attacked not long after you left. I don’t want to imagine what would’ve happened if you were there when I got mugged.”

“I’ve been doing well so far.” Phoebe said.

“And that’s good luck.” Killian said. “The fact remains that you’re too young for something to happen to you.”

Phoebe sighed impatiently, clearly unhappy with this ultimatum. “Fine. I better get going anyways.”

“Be safe.” Killian said as he saw her sneak out. He just hoped he would follow his advice and just head straight home.

He hoped.

* * *

Gold never thought that he’d willingly open his shop to a fairy, but here he was inviting one in through the backdoor entrance of his shop.

He did so hope her magic didn’t leave its mark here. He was in no mood to cleanse his shop of her stink.

“Hurry up.” He told the young fairy, who despite having done this numerous times, entered his shop distrustfully. He closed the door behind her and asked, “What took you so long?”

“I needed to check on something.” The fairy said as she took off her backpack. She then opened it up and dumped out the papers on a table unhappily.

“I hope you don’t expect me to clean up your mess, girl.” Gold told her as some papers fell on the floor.

The girl glared at him as she picked up the papers. “My name’s Phoebe, remember?”

“As long as you got the job done, I don’t care.” Gold said as he walked forward and saw that she at least got this right.

It was amazing what people threw away without a care, or at least without bothering to shred them up first. Financial statements, credit card statements, bank records, not to mention other items of a personal nature that Gold now possessed. Given the limp he had in this life, he couldn’t very well do it himself. However, the teenage fairy was fast and had a knack for sneaking around town undetected.

“I did my job.” The young fairy told him.

“And you shall get your pay.” Gold said as he checked that everything was there. He then went over to a small vault in the wall, and pulled out a roll of bills. He then threw it to the young fairy, who caught it in her hands.

She seemed hesitant, and then brazenly asked, “What if I did this...and you could lower the rent for the convent?”

“Don’t push it.” Gold said. “You’re lucky I’m allowing you and the little one to stay there.”

The girl didn’t seem to appreciate that. “Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor. You made start this, and you’re only paying me this - which by the way barely counts as minimum wage - so that you can feel better about yourself.”

“I could just pay you nothing and inform the police of what you’ve done.” Gold threatened.

“Or I could tell them that you’re making me do this.” The girl threatened back.

“And why would they believe you?” Gold questioned coldly. “A truant from a broken family who steals from others to give herself gifts?” Gold also knew that she mainly used the money to put clothes on the back of the little one, but he knew that his carefully chosen words would cause her to reconsider her words.

As he expected, that little bit of truth about some indulgence made her flush with shame.

“Now, do leave my shop.” Gold said cooly. “I have some reading to do.”

The girl then looked down guiltily before taking the money and leaving.

As Gold reviewed the papers before him, he thought about who she was in her past life. He barely saw her but for a few minutes, and she wasn’t even the fairy child he was looking for. She did have her uses her, as a young child’s desperation and stupidity worked in his favor. Plus, as he stated before, she made for an excellent thief.

Gold sat down as reviewed the papers before him, allowing himself to smile as he learned more peoples’ secrets.

* * *

_January 15, 2012_

Jefferson walked alongside Dada as she walked the pirate’s dog in the morning. Well, not the pirate necessarily. Jefferson had to remind himself to refer to Captain Hook as Killian Jones, especially since Dada thought of him so fondly.

“Killian said that he should be released tomorrow.” Dada said with a clear look of relief on her face. “He just needs to take it easy and not move around too much while he’s recovering.”

Jefferson nodded. From what he remembered of the pirate when he was in Wonderland, the man was made of tough stuff. It made sense that he could leave the hospital after a brutal attack.

He would know. He was the one who called the police.

He had been walking towards the library, wanting to surprise Dada with a visit when he saw Jones being attacked by someone in a mask. Jefferson rose, but when he spotted Dada moving in the library, he knew that he had to do something. He wasn’t a fighter though, he never had been, so he went to the nearest payphone and called the police. He didn’t want to get involved, so he just remained silent about his involvement.

He didn’t know if that made him a coward or not, but at least no one got killed.

“Jefferson, are you okay?” Dada asked him. “You kind of zoned out for a second.”

“I’m fine.” Jefferson said.

“If you say so.” Dada said before noticing someone walking towards them, and she began to wave at them. “Frances! Hi!”

The woman clearly recognized Dada, as her blue eyes lips up, and her reddish lips curled into a genuine smile as she waved back with her right hand. There Jefferson noticed that the woman had a star-shaped scar on her right hand. Jefferson wondered if that would help in figuring out who she was.

“Good morning, Dada.” The woman greeted in a British accent as stopped before them, brushing back a piece of her dark hair behind her ear.

“Morning Frances.” Dada said before turning to Jefferson. “Jefferson, this is my old counselor, Frances. Frances, this is Jefferson.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Frances said as she shook Jefferson’s hand in hers before releasing it. “I’d love to chat, but-” suddenly, Frances winced, holding her right hand as if something burned it.

“Frances, what is it?” Dada asked worriedly.

“Nothing.” Frances told her. “Sometimes it just stings for no reason.”

Jefferson found that hard to believe. Oh, she certainly might believe it, but whatever caused that wound in their past life likely flared up whenever something from their past life was near. The same thing happened with the scar on his neck, but that’s usually whenever he was anywhere near Regina, or just when he thinks of Cora.  

Jefferson looked around, and found a man in a nice suit walking nearby. Jefferson recognized him as Raymond Fitzroy. Jefferson knew of him because the man’s nephew played with Grace, and he wanted to know who his daughter was interacting with.

Once Raymond left, none the wiser to what was going on with them, Frances stopped wincing, much to Dada’s relief.

That couldn’t be a coincidence. Jefferson wondered who Frances and Raymond were, and what their connection was. He just hoped that whoever Frances was, she wouldn’t hurt Dada, since the younger girl was clearly close to her. There was more to the story, and Jefferson would have to keep an eye out to figure out what that was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so there it is! Killian was assaulted, Ray is Percival, LJ is Galahad, and Frances (the lady I’ve been mentioning for several chapters now) is Morgana.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the review box down below. 
> 
> See you next week!


	19. Stronger Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Killian recovers from his assault, and we learn more about the origins of Phoebe. Also, Saturday becomes an important date for a few characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All canon things belong to the creators of OUAT. My OCs are of my creation. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left kudos or comments. They are the highlight of my day. 
> 
> Special thanks as always to Can’t-Stop-My-Fandom
> 
> Enjoy!

_January 15, 2012_

Killian winced as he walked around the library with a crutch, careful to avoid Lady who eagerly followed him around.

He’d only been allowed out of the hospital that morning, and he didn’t know if the medical bills or the fact that his ankle was still healing felt worse.

“Killian, are you sure you don’t need help?” Dada asked as she stood nervously nearby.

“I thought I told you to go home already.” Killian said as gently as he could.

Dada shrugged her shoulders. “I just don’t want to leave until you’re okay. Especially given what happened last time. They still haven’t caught the guy.”

“You can stop worrying about me.” Killian told her, this time more firmly. “I’m almost healed up anyways, and if the mugger does decide to come back, I’ll be ready.”

“How?” Dada questioned, pointing at his crutch. “No offense, but you wouldn’t be able to just run after the guy. Besides, if you mess up that ankle now you’re going straight back to the hospital.”

It had been like this all day. Killian appreciated the gesture, he truly did, but he did not want to deal with this anymore.

In a desperate bid to change the subject, Killian abruptly asked, “So, how are you and your _friend_ getting along?”

Dada made a face at his emphasis of the word ‘friend’. “Nice segue.” She snarked. “And we’re getting along just fine, so don’t worry about it.”

Killian didn’t miss the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

Deciding to show her a little mercy, he said, “If he makes you happy, then by all means, have fun. Besides, it’s good that you have a new friend.”

Dada paused before saying, “Well, two more friends. I’ve been talking to Ruby from the diner more lately.”

"That's good." Killian said with a smile. He was happy to hear that Dada was branching out. Often, he worried about how she seemed to isolate herself. As young as she was, she should have friends and be able to go out and have a good time. She deserved to enjoy life more.

Dada smiled shyly back at him. “Thanks.” Dada then cleared her throat before continuing, “So, you know why Henry and Declan were eying each other earlier?”

Killian shook his head. “No idea, but-”

Killian was interrupted by Lady suddenly barking at something outside. Namely, she seemed to be focusing her barking in the direction of where the garbage was.

“Oh god, is it him again?” Dada asked nervously, having already armed herself with the baseball bat.

Killian hastily limped his way behind the front desk, wincing at the pressure he was putting on his ankle, and he quickly grabbed the camera there. “If it is, at least I’ll get proof of what he looks like.” He told her. He then tested the camera to make sure that the flash was on.

“You mean ‘we’, right?” Dada said, though judging by her tone, it was clear that she was about to let him go out alone.

Suppressing the urge to sigh, Killian said, “Alright, us, now let’s hurry, and keep your distance.”

With a nod, Dada opened the door, gently nudging Lady back into the library before the pup could get out. Once she closed the door behind them, Killian and Dada silently made their way towards the garbage.

There they found a small, thin figure wearing a hoodie, with their back turned to them.

Killian brought the camera up, ready to take the shot.

That’s when Dada shouted, “Hey!”

This startled the figure, who turned around to face them, and Killian immediately took a picture, the flash illuminating their frightened face.

Dada began to say, “Wait, aren’t you-”

“Phoebe?” Killian asked incredulously. “You’re doing this again?”

There in front of them was the nervous 14-year-old, who without a second thought immediately raced away.

“Hey, wait!” Dada said as she began to race after Phoebe. Killian tried to follow, but soon realized that his ankle was beginning to painfully throb.

Dada disappeared for a few minutes, but eventually came back breathless and without Phoebe.

“She got away.” She gasped out as she tried to collect her breath. “Jeez, she’s fast. Did the picture come out good at least?”

“It did.” Killian said, checking the idea again, and seeing that it got a clear look at Phoebe’s face.

“Are we...are we going to call the police?” Dada asked him.

“No.” Killian said immediately. When Dada raised an eyebrow at him, Killian continued, “Not yet. I’ll have a talk with her tomorrow.”

“You sure?” Dada asked. “I mean, I don’t exactly look forward to getting a teenager in trouble, and I’m not sure why she was around our garbage, but I don’t...something just doesn’t feel right about this.”

“I agree.” Killian said, his mind focusing on the mystery before them. “Whatever she was doing, whatever it was for, I intend to figure it out.”

* * *

  _January 16, 2012_

Ruby didn’t know if she’d met someone who worked as hard as Ray. After all, who else would bring their case files to a diner, almost completely ignoring the food and coffee right next to them. Honestly, the guy should relax once in a while. He was too pretty to get wrinkles this early in life.

“You gonna go talk to him?” Dada asked her.

“Mm, maybe.” Ruby said.

“While you’re at it, you might want to restrain the burning looks you’re giving him.” Dada said with a smirk.

Ruby merely rolled her eyes. At least Dada was comfortable enough around her to start joking with her. Before, it was like Dada tried to carefully pick and choose every word she spoke. Now, Ruby got the joy of talking to Dada when she didn’t use a filter.

Though why she insisted that Ruby go after him, she didn't know. Ray wasn't her type. He was a workaholic and a single dad. Ruby liked kids, but she wasn't into the package deal.

He was nice to look at for sure. He also seemed pretty fit for a guy who was supposedly behind a desk all the time. Plus, she had to admit that sometimes, when he smiled, his lips would part away from his teeth, and the little teeth gap he had was kind of cute.

Dada cleared her throat, sending Ruby a smug look, complete with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at her. “Okay, he’s cute, but-”

“But what?” Dada interrupted. “Look, I’ve lived in the same building as Ray in a while. He’s a nice guy. He just needs to get out more, and who better to help him out with that than you?”

“I do love a good party.” Ruby admitted. “I just don’t know if he’d go for it.”

Dada shrugged. “Hey, if _I_ can get out and talk to a guy, you have nothing to worry about.”

Ruby took that as an opportunity to stall. “Speaking of which, how’re things going between you and Jefferson?”

Dada smiled shyly. “They’re going fine. We’re just hanging out. Nice attempt to stall by the way.”

Well damn. “Still,” Ruby said, “I don’t know if I’m going to go for it.”

“Hmmm.” Dada hummed. “Maybe it’s for a the best. After all, maybe you’re just not up to the task.”

Ruby smelt a challenge. “Is that right?”

“Mhmm.” Dada replied with another smug look. “Maybe you really can’t show Ray a good time out on the town.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes and quirked her lips up into a challenging smirk. “Wanna bet?”

Dada leaned forward on her forearms. “Alright, let’s bet. Try to convince Ray to go out for a night with you. If you can’t, then...you have to pay for my meals here for a week.”

 _Uh oh_ , Ruby thought. If she didn’t get this right, that would be coming straight out of her check. Still, Ruby couldn’t just back down now. “Fine, and _when_ I win, you have to ask Jefferson out for a date.”

This knocked the smug look right off Dada’s face, leaving her looking shocked, “Wait, what?”

This time, it was Ruby’s turn to look smug. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the _burning looks_ you’ve been giving him. You have a thing for him, and when I win this bet, you’re going to take the plunge and ask him out.”

“Um, is it too late to back out of this bet?” Dada asked with a nervous grin, a bright blush on her cheeks at the mention of the ‘burning looks’.

“Yep.” Ruby said peppily.

With a sigh and a look of apprehension, Dada defeatedly said, “Okay...deal.”

“Sweet.” Ruby said with a smirk, now heading towards Ray, who was absentmindedly drinking his coffee.

He was completely unaware of her approach.

“Hey Ray.” Ruby said with a charming smile.

Ray looked up a little startled, nearly spilling the coffee on himself. “Hi Ruby. The food’s-” Ray looked down at his still untouched food. With a self-conscious look, he continued, “The food looks good. Sorry.”

Ruby fluttered her eyes at him, feeling pleased when she saw him swallow a lump in his throat.

“It’s all good.” Ruby assured him. “I was just wondering...do you have any plans this weekend?”

“Probably work.” Ray replied with a shrug. “That’s usually all I do on the weekends. Well, that and look after LJ. Though...I think he’s going to spend time at a friend’s house on Saturday. So that probably means just work.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Ruby said. When Ray looked up with a curious look, she said, “If you’re free on Saturday, you and me should go and grab a drink.”

Ray gave her a surprised look. “Uh, you want, what, um, sorry?” Ray stuttered through his words, uncertain as to how to process a woman asking him out. It didn't happen much. In fact, Ray wasn't sure it ever happened at all. Give him back-to-back courtroom meetings with Judge Herman any day. At least he would have some idea on what to say.

Ruby thought that stammering was cute. “I said that the two of us should grab a drink on Saturday, if you’re free of course.”

“Um, well, I don’t know what to…” Ray then cleared his throat. “I just...I’ve got some work to do.”

Ruby was undeterred. She was not going to pass up the chance to spend time with the best looking lawyer in town (thought in comparison to Ray, Mr. Gold and Mr. Spencer didn’t stand a chance). Plus, she could practically feel Dada’s gaze on them.

“Come on, it’s just a short drink.” Ruby said. “Besides, you just said that LJ was going to spend Saturday at a friend’s house. Why not have some fun for a little bit?”

Ray still seemed uncertain. He wasn't going to be easy to convince.

Ruby pouted her lips just a bit to look more vulnerable.

That seemed to crack whatever resolve Ray had, especially when he looked down at the paperwork before him. “Well...I guess I can use a night off.” He said a touch nervously.

Ruby heard Dada say “What?!” in the loudest whisper she’d ever heard.

Before Ray could look in Dada’s direction, Ruby placed her hand on his. “Great. What time are you available?”

Ray and Ruby exchanged available times, and when they promised to finalize any and all plans on Friday, Ray went back to his work (though he actually ate his food this time).

Ruby triumphantly went back to Dada, whose mouth was still open.

Ruby cheekily placed a single finger under her chin and lifted it so that it closed Dada’s mouth.

Dada pulled back, saying “How?”

“Looks like I was up to the task.” Ruby smirked. “Now, it’s your turn to ask Jefferson out.”

“Oh god.” Dada said. Casting another nervous glance at Ruby, she asked, “Is it too late to back out of the bet?”

“Definitely.” Ruby said. As Dada began to deflate, her cheeks brightening once more, Ruby continued, “Come on, it’ll be fine. Besides, things might go _much_ better than you think they will.” Ruby’s emphasis of the word ‘much’ was matched with a meaningful smirk.

At that, Dada’s forehead gently hit the counter.

Ruby smiled. This day was looking up after all.

* * *

There are a number of reasons Killian had thought of for coming to a holy place, but never did he think he’d go to a convent to confront teenage thief.

After all, that had to have been why Phoebe was rummaging around in their garbage. She was either looking for food or something else. Why on earth she was doing it, or why she thought it was a good idea, Killian didn’t know. He was going to find out, and with the developed photo of Phoebe in his jacket, he was going to get answers. He waited until everyone at the library went home before he decided to go to the convent.

And he had the perfect way in.

“Now listen, Lady.” Killian said to the puppy as they walked towards the convent. “Just in case, you distract the little one while I talk to Phoebe. You got that?”

Lady yipped, and then became distracted and began to sniff a leaf.

Eventually, they found themselves at the doors of the convent, and he let himself inside.

A nun soon spotted them. “I’m sorry, but pets aren’t allowed in here.”

“That’s alright, I won’t be long.” Killian said. “I just wanted to speak to Phoebe. I believe she left something at the library.”

“I see.” The nun said. “Wait here. I’ll bring her here.” The nun then disappeared down the hall.

Barely half a minute later, Killian heard the sounds of someone running before he quickly spotted a certain four-year-old crash into his uninjured leg.

“Hi Killian!” Mai said happily. She then bent down, still keeping one arm wrapped around Killian’s leg, and pet Lady. “Hi puppy!”

“Hello Mai.” Killian said with a warm smile. He then got her to release his leg. “I haven’t seen you around the library in a bit.”

“I know. I missed you and Lady.” Mai replied. She then looked at the crutch and said, “Are you feeling better? Phoebe said you were in the hospital, because of the bad man.”

Killian nodded. “Yes, I’m feeling much better. Say, do you know where Phoebe might be?"

“I’m here.” The girl in question said. Looking up, Killian saw Phoebe looking sick as she watched him warily, with the nun right behind her. “Sister Agnes said that I left something at the library?”

Judging by her tone of voice, she knew that it was a lie, but seemed too afraid to say something.

“Indeed.” Killian said. Then, he pretended like he just remembered something. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot it at the library. Looks like it’s a long trek back.”

Before Phoebe could say anything, Sister Agnes said, “Perhaps Phoebe should join you.”

Phoebe whipped her head at the nun in surprise. “What?”

“Can I come too?” Mai asked. She then went up to the sister and clasped her hands together pleadingly. “Please, please, please, _please_? I promise I’ll be good.”

Judging by the sister’s nonplussed look, Killian got the sense that the sister didn’t care for the girls as much as Sister Astrid or Mother Superior did.

“Help the poor man back, Phoebe.” Sister Agnes said. “And take Mai with you. Lord knows she needs the exercise from being cooped up here all day.”

“You sure?” Phoebe asked. “I mean, maybe-”

“Phoebe, please just collect your things.” Sister Agnes said sharply.

Phoebe stiffened, but nodded nonetheless. “Come on, Mai. Let’s get our coats.” Phoebe said testily.

“Yay!” Mai said, and promised that they’d be back before she ran back into the hallway, Phoebe slowly trailing behind her.

Five minutes later, the three of them were walking to the library. Mai was walking ahead of them, holding onto Lady’s leash, completely engrossed in the fact that she was walking a puppy.

Meanwhile, he and Phoebe were walking side-by-side, and Killian took the opportunity to show her the photo.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to go out anymore.” Killian said as Phoebe looked at the photo with a worried look. “Not only did you lie to me, but you’re doing the same thing that could’ve resulted in you being assaulted like I did. What were you thinking?”

“What do you care?” Phoebe shot back angrily. “It’s not like you’re my dad.”

Killian quickly replied, “No, but the fact of the matter is that you’re a young and vulnerable girl. They still haven’t found the man that did this to me.” Killian gestured to his crutch and still-healing ankle. “If anything had happened to you outside of my work, my _home_ , I would feel responsible.”

“Well don’t.” Phoebe said, though this time she broke eye contact with Killian, and her face took on a distinctively vulnerable look. As she watched Mai, Phoebe said, “I know how to take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for awhile.”

For a moment, Killian thought he was looking at his 17-year-old self. The image of himself as a lonely, angry young man was remained on his mind before he was brought back to the present. Still, he knew that, just like Phoebe, at fourteen he was probably as determined to prove that he could stand on his own. After all, it was fueled by the fear that someday he _would_ have to be on his own.

After Liam died, Killian felt as if there was nobody in the world cared about him.  

Looking at Phoebe now, he knew that Phoebe felt the same way, at least to some extent. The way she looked at Mai, like she was the only tether she had to the world, was the same way he once looked at Liam.

“Besides…” Phoebe trailed off uncertainty, her face scrunching up guiltily. “It’s not like I’d be doing anything bad. It’s just garbage.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Killian corrected her. When Phoebe looked at him confusedly, Killian continued, “People throw things away thoughtlessly. Perhaps they accidentally threw away something priceless, like some handmade gift, or perhaps a family heirloom. Perhaps some medication they need that they can’t afford to replace outside of a prescription. Besides, you never know what someone could do to damage with whatever they find in people’s things.”

If Killian thought that this information might have incentivized a criminal in the making, that thought vanished by the paling look on Phoebe’s face.

“I, um…” Phoebe trailed off before swallowing a lump in her throat as they approached the library. “I didn’t know that.”

“Which makes me wonder…” Killian trailed off, quieting as he opened the door for Mai and Lady to get inside. Closing the door behind himself and Phoebe, he waited for the little girl to be out of earshot before he continued, “why would you do such a thing?"

“It’s not...it’s not bad.” Phoebe tried to tell him, though judging by the look on her face, it was now beginning to truly dawn on her what she was doing. “I just...please don’t tell Mother Superior.”

“What is going on, Phoebe?” Killian asked her insistently. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what it is.”  

Phoebe looked at him warily, though the resolve she had to remain quiet was beginning to falter. Phoebe pleaded, “Please, just don’t tell Mother Superior.”

“That depends on what you have to say.” Killian told her.

Reluctantly, Phoebe said, “Okay, I look through people’s garbage to see if I can find stuff they’ve thrown away that might be...useful to other people. And then I trade it.”

Phoebe must’ve seen the disappointed look on Killian’s face, because she hastily added, “I didn’t think it was anything how. I didn’t know how this stuff worked. The only reason I took the job was to help out at the convent. The nuns are already paying a lot to keep Mai and me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but we need the money. If I find good things, I get a good trade off and I help the convent, but sometimes...” Phoebe then rolled up her sleeve, showing Killian a healing cut on her arm. “Sometimes all I find is glass.”

Killian sucked in a breath through his teeth as Phoebe rolled the sleeve back down.

“The nuns are doing all they can to let me and Mai stay there, but it’s not enough.” Phoebe told him with watery eyes. “I have to help out somehow. Mai’s too young to work, so it has to be me.”

Killian understood. God, did he understand. He knew of the desperation it took to do whatever it took to contribute somehow, to want to ease the burden on those who look after you.

He also knew the look of someone young who felt as if they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. It was the same look he had seen on Ray’s face when the man looked at LJ, and it was the same look he would sometimes catch on Liam’s face when he looked at Killian.

As worried as Killian was about Phoebe, he was soon angry at whoever it was Phoebe’s buyer was. Someone was using a teenage girl to steal from others, and he had a feeling that whoever could sink so low was also preying on Phoebe’s desperation.

“Who is it?” Killian asked. “Who are you selling these things too?”

Phoebe replied, “I can’t tell you.”

Killian started, “Phoebe-”

“I just _can’t_ , alright.” Phoebe told him.

Killian had had enough. “Well it ends now.” Killian then held up the photo. “You’re done selling it to them.”

“What?” Phoebe asked in surprise.

“I mean it. You will not longer trade anything with them.” Killian told her. “The only reason I haven’t called the police is that I don’t believe that you came up with this on your own. If you go out and do this again, I will show this to Sheriff Graham and Deputy Swan.”

“Weren’t you listening to me?” Phoebe asked indignantly. “We need the stuff that comes from that tradeoff. You can’t do this!”

“What they don’t need is one of their wards ending up with a juvenile record.” Killian shot back. “What Mai doesn’t need is for you to potentially go to jail.”

Phoebe’s face became red with anger, and instead of answering she went over to Mai, and picked up the four-year-old in her arms.

“What’s going on?” Mai asked, looking at Lady who looked at them curiously.

“We’re going home.” Phoebe said, sending Killian a glare. “Turns out we came here for nothing.”

They were already halfway through the door, and Mai barely got out a “Bye!” before the door closed behind them.

Killian sighed. He knew that he likely drove Phoebe away, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He wasn’t about to let Phoebe go on her own and risk her safety.

The first thing he needed to do was figure out who her buyer was, and then to make sure that whoever it was would learn that he was less malleable than a young girl.

* * *

“I want to quit.” The young fairy turned thief told Gold.

“Must we go through this again?” Gold told her boredly. “You bring me valuable items, I shave off some of the debt your caretakers owe me.”

“But it’s wrong.” The little fairy insisted.

“That’s never bothered you before.” Gold replied.

“Well it does now!” The girl shot back.

“Keep your voice down.” Gold told her cooly. “This is a licensed establishment, not a playground.”

“Oh sure.” She said sarcastically. “I’m sure you got everything else in here totally legally, right?”

Gold began to glare at her. “Watch what you say, Miss Smalls. As I told you before, whatever may come to light of our dealings will end in mutual destruction. And unlike you, I’ve had practice in coming away from dealings unscathed.”

“Well find someone else to deal with.” She told him, though with a small hint of fear on her face. “I’m done.”

She was nearly to the door when Gold said, “I could take off more of the debt. Perhaps enough to settle a small debt that the sisters owe me.”

She turned around to face him again, but whatever hope might’ve begun to rise up was quickly matched by her skepticism. “Really?” She asked disbelievingly. “You hate the nuns. The only reason I’m doing this is because you probably tax them more than anyone else in town.”

“Which is why you might be interested in what I have to offer.” Gold told her. “I might be inclined to ease the burden of what they owe me...if you provide me with information about Killian Jones.”

“What?” She asked, watching him incredulously.

“Don’t act so alarmed.” He told her. “I know that Mr. Jones seems fond of you, if his adopting a pet solely for you and the little one is anything to go by.” Before the girl could voice her surprise, Gold cut her off. “I’ll pay for certain information that you can glean from Mr. Jones in exchange for a minor debt the nuns owe me.”

Gold suppressed a smile, knowing that he’d gotten her interest.

However, a glimmer of resistance remained. “What have you got against Killian?” She asked him. “You’ve never asked me to spy on anyone specifically before. Why him?”

Looking further at her expression, Gold quickly surmised that she held a certain regard for Mr. Jones.

If only she knew of the pirate’s selfish, blood thirsty nature.

Gold continued, “I also have a keen interest in his relationship to Deputy Swan. So, whatever you can glean from that will count as...let’s say a small bonus.”

The fairy glared at him. “You’re asking me to risk a whole lot. And how am I supposed to know if you’ll even hold up your end of the bargain?”

“Care to strike a deal, then?” Gold asked with a smirk.  
  
The fairy swallowed, nervousness in her eyes. She was on the edge. She was so close to accepting his deal.

So, Gold gave her the final nudge needed. “Think of it as helping your family. After all, they’ve really all you’ve got, aren’t they?”

At last, the resolve she held died as the fairy girl quietly asked, “What kind of deal are we talking about?”

Gold smiled. It looks like his thief had just become a spy.

* * *

_“Mother, why don’t I look like you?” Thumbelina asked her mother as she combed her fingers through her hair, looking at her reflection in the glass before her. Nothing except perhaps thistle was small enough for her to use, but there was also the risk that she’d poke her own eye out._

_Thumbelina's mother brushed away her greying brown hair away from her blue eyes, so unlike Thumbelina’s blonde hair and brown eyes._

_“You know why.” Her mother told her as she made the bed. “The Blue Fairy planted a flower, and...and out you came. A wonderful little girl for me to raise.”_

_Thumbelina smiled at the warm look on her mother’s face, but she was undeterred._

_“But why didn’t the Blue Fairy make me look more like you?” Thumbelina asked. “Why didn’t she make me bigger?”_

_“Things happen as they must.” A new voice said, causing Thumbelina to jump around to see who it was. She felt a little self-conscious looking at Blue now, seeing that she’d been caught talking about the fairy when she thought she wasn’t around._

_Blue looked at Thumbelina with a smile. “Are you worried about your size?”_

_“No.” Thumbelina denied. At Blue’s knowing look, Thumbelina sighed. “A little. I can barely leave the house because it takes too long to get there.”_

_“Thumbelina.” Blue said softly as she gently flew down until she was floating before her. Her pretty blue wings, which Thumbelina could barely take her eyes off of, keeping her in the air. “You have nothing to worry about. You’re just the way you’re meant to be.”_

_“Exactly, my darling.” Thumbelina’s mother said warmly as she approached. “You’re wonderful, no matter what size.”_

_“Speaking of which.” Blue said as she floating up to be eye level with her mother. “Barbara, may we speak in private.”_

_“Of course.” Her mother said, going over to open a book before placing it near Thumbelina. “Darling, I’ll be back soon.”_

_“Yes, mother.” Thumbelina said as her mother and Blue went outside of their shack, closing the door behind them._

_Thumbelina went to stand on the pages of the book, walking across the page as she read. She couldn’t wait until she finished with both pages. Then she could start lifting up the pages. Soon enough, she’d get enough strength to-_

_“You can’t do this!” Her mother’s muffled voice protested before Thumbelina heard the sound of Blue hushing her._

_Curious, Thumbelina decided to investigate. She grabbed a piece of string and tied it around a hole in the dish rack, using that to scale down to the floor. Once her feet hit the floor, Thumbelina ran towards the door, and crawled under the space between the bottom of the door and the floor, carefully peeking out so that she wasn’t caught._

_Thumbelina saw her mother pacing around as Blue tried to talk to her._

_“It’s for the best.” Blue told her mother._

_“She’s too young.” Her mother told Blue, the lines on her face seemingly deeper than usual._

_“Thumbelina will gained more mobility, and she’ll be around her kind.” Blue said. “She can learn how to be a true fairy. Someday, she may even become a fairy godmother.”_

_Her mother looked away, clearly unhappy with what Blue was asking._

_“Barbara.” Blue said gently. “It’s for the best. She’ll need to come with me eventually.”_

_“Why does it have to be now?” Her mother asked Blue, turning around with a betrayed look. “I spent decades wishing for a child, and now you want to take her away. And to a life full of sacrifice?”_

Take me away? _, Thumbelina thought worriedly._ What are they talking about? I don’t want to leave Mother. I’m...I’m not ready yet!

_Thumbelina remembered what she said to Blue earlier. Was it because of what she said? If so, then she took it back. She hadn’t meant to make things sound bad. She just wanted to move around, see the world._

_No. No, maybe Mother can come with me. Yes, yes that has to be it. Blue wouldn’t separate us, right?_

_“A life where she can help others.” Blue argued._

_“But that’s not all it will be, will it?” Her mother retorted. “She’ll have to make many personal sacrifices to be one of your fairies, won’t she? She would have to give up any dreams she had in service of the greater good.” After a pause, her mother asked, “How often would she get to see me?_

_At this, Blue offered no reply._

_Her mother scoffed in hurt disbelief, and Thumbelina’s heart sank to her stomach._

_“All in service to the greater good, right?” Her mother asked, glaring at Blue through watery eyes._

_“It’s what we all must do.” Blue said almost remorsefully. “I’m not saying that you would never see her again, but-”_

_“She is a child!” Her mother protested once more. “She’s my little girl. She deserves to continue being a child.”_

_“That’s just it, Barbara.” Blue said as Thumbelina feared about her future. “She won’t be a child forever. Something is coming, I can feel it. If we don’t train as many fairies as we can, if we don’t prepare enough for what’s coming, I fear that she may not get a chance to grow up.”_

* * *

  _January 17, 2012_

Graham told Declan, “Slow down,” before taking a sip of his coffee.

Declan tried not to roll his eyes before he marginally slowed down in his mission to eat everything off his plate.

Graham knew it would take some time before Declan got used to the idea that food wouldn’t just be taken away without notice. Declan didn’t seem to care what the food was, so long as it was there. He didn’t even mind that, like today, they usually came to Granny’s. He hovered over his food and eyed anyone that came near suspiciously.  

Honestly, if Graham ever got his hands on Declan’s parents-

“Hi.” A familiar voice said. Looking down, Graham saw that it was Fernando.

“Hi Fernando.” Graham said as Declan eyed the child warily.

“Hi Graham.” Fernando said before climbing into the booth on Declan’s side, with Declan scooching out of the way while maintaining a hold on his plate. Fernando then looked at Declan curiously before saying, “Hi.”

“Hi...tiny child.” Declan said awkwardly.

Fernando giggled at him. "You're funny."

Declan, despite still being a little awkward, smiled. “Thanks?” He then looked at Fernando, particularly his head of curly black hair. "Huh. I guess Hobbits are real."

“Declan.” Graham said warningly, but the boy had no shame.

Fernando tilted his head, confused by the word. "What's a hobbit?"

"What's a hobbit?" Declan blinked at him. "My man, we have got to educate you."

“I’m sorry about that.” Nancy said as she hurried over to their booth.

“Mommy.” Fernando greeted with a happy. “He says I’m a Hobbit.”

Declan paused with a somewhat worried as Nancy gave him a look. “He’s a cute kid and needs second breakfast?”

Fernando gasped in excitement as he looked at his mother.

Nancy cracked a smile. “You’ll have to wait until lunch Fernando.” She said as she picked the boy up. “Now come on, I think you need nap time.”

“But Mommy, I’m a Hobbit.” Fernando whined as Nancy took him away.

Graham looked at his watch. “Speaking of time, the bus will be here soon. Finish your breakfast.”

“I don’t know.” Declan snarked. “I might have to breathe.”

Graham raised an eyebrow, and Declan just finished his breakfast.

After they finished up and paid for the meal, the two of them walked towards the bus stop.

“Have you got everything you need?” Graham asked Declan as the bus approached.

“I finished my homework, and double checked to make sure it was there.” Declan replied.

“And your lunch?” Graham asked.

Declan just turned so that Graham could see that his lunch box was attached to his backpack.

“Good lad.” Graham said, and he noticed a small smile on Declan’s face. “Oh, and your egg?”

“In the backpack.” Declan replied. “It’s not gonna get crushed or anything.”

“You sure you don’t want me to keep it?” Graham asked.

“I’m sure.” Declan said before stepping onto the boss. “See you later Graham.”

“See you!” Graham called out before Declan got on. He stayed in that same spot until the bus door closed, and the driver took its passengers to school. 

Graham turned around to find Nancy there, and she presented...his badge.

“You dropped this inside.” She told him. 

Graham immediately felt embarrassed as he took it from her. “Thank you. I should probably keep a better eye on my things.” Then, remembering what happened in the diner, he said, “Look, Declan doesn’t mean anything by it. He just-”

Nancy raised a hand. “Say no more. For what it’s worth, I think Fernando likes the idea of being a Hobbit.”

"Even if he doesn't know what it is?" Graham chuckled.

Nancy said, “Well, he understands that Hobbits apparently get _two_ breakfasts.”

Graham smirked. "Ah, good, he has priorities. Has he pleaded his case for bacon yet?”

“The first chance he got.” Nancy said. After a pause, she said, “You know, I think I like this look on you?”

“What look?” Graham asked as he self-consciously checked himself.

Only when he looked back at Nancy did she say, “Happy. You look happy.”

Graham smiled a little and said, “Well, I am.” _But I could be happier with you_ , he thought. “You seemed happy too.”

Nancy smiled coyly. “I could be happier.”

 _Wait, did she mean…_ Graham replied equally as coy, “And what can I do to make you happier?”

“I can think of a few things.” Nancy said. She pursed her lips, seemingly a little nervous, before asking, “For example...you doing anything this weekend?”

“Patrols, most likely.” Graham answered automatically before he realized that this could be his shot to do something with her. “That is, of course, unless you had something in mind.”

“Maybe.” Nancy said with a touch of anticipation in her expression. “Tell you what? Meet me after work on Wednesday, and I’ll let you know. Alright?”

“Okay.” Graham said with a smile. “I, uh, better get to work.”

“Protect and serve, Sheriff.” Nancy said with a mock salute before heading back into the diner.

Graham couldn’t stop smiling the entire way to the station.

* * *

If there was one thing Jefferson was sure of, it was that he was never going to be able to enter a crowded room again. That’s why he and Dada were currently eating in the courtyard of Granny’s Diner, because he felt like his skin started to curl up the minute he tried to enter the busy diner. He’d spent such a long time in his workshop, isolated from everyone except Cora’s men, working day in and day out on hats that might take him back home, that being around crowds felt almost unnatural now.

A long time ago, he had once gone through local markets that were crammed with harried and desperate people trying to buy and sell goods. Now he could feel a cold sweat break out over his body at the prospect of just walking into that diner.

He felt bad that Dada was suffering in the cold with him, but he also felt appreciative that she took one look at how uncomfortable he was, and suggested they eat outside.

“How’re you feeling now?” Dada asked him.

“Better.” Jefferson said. “You can go inside if you want. I won’t mind.”

“Hey, this is our time, remember?” Dada told him. “I’m just sorry I brought you here with a big crowd.”

Glancing at the restaurant, Jefferson could’ve sworn he saw Ruby check on their for the third time in a row.

“So, uh, Jefferson.” Dada started, and she looked very nervous. She took in a calming breath and hurriedly said, “I was uh...just wondering, you don’t have to do it, but...do you have any plans on Saturday.”

“You know I don’t.” Jefferson tried to joke, but the nervous look remain on Dada’s face.

She nodded stiffly before saying, “I wanted to know because, again, you don’t have to do it, but do you want to go...out with me on Saturday?”

“Sure.” Jefferson said, already smiling at the prospect of spending more time with Dada.

“Really?” She asked in surprise.

“Yeah.” Jefferson said. “It’s kind of what we do.”

“Oh.” Dada said, seemingly deflating before she cleared her throat. She glanced at the window before looking back at him. “I actually meant...do you want to go out on a date with me?”

Oh. _Oh_. That’s what she meant, huh? She wanted to go on date with him of all people. Jefferson couldn’t really hide his surprise, nor could he ignore the warring feelings of anticipation and wariness inside of him. It had been so long that he’d been on a date, and with Dada, the prospect really made him happy. On the other hand, old fears rose up. What if this was Dada, but not who she really was, that wanted him. Hell, when did she start being interested in him?

Dada said nothing as she waited for his answer, and immediately Jefferson hated the way her face began to fall. “Um, like I said you don’t have to do it.” Dada said in a quieter voice. “It was stupid and-”

“Let’s do it.” Jefferson said without thinking, though deep down he knew that he didn’t regret it.

Dada's jaw dropped. “Really?” She asked excitedly before sitting up straighter in an attempt to look nonchalant. “But, only if you’re sure.” She added, though he still spotted the look of anticipation on his face.

Jefferson nodded. He would have to be careful. He liked Dada, he really did. She made could make him smile and laugh. She made him _happy_ , which is why he knew he couldn’t take advantage of the state she was in. Turning her down would crush her, but more to the point, he wanted to make sure that this was truly what she wanted.

“You have any suggestions on where to go?” Jefferson asked her.

“Not really.” Dada said. “Somewhere quiet would be nice.”

“Definitely.” Jefferson said. “We can figure it out.”

Dada smiled back and echoed, “Definitely.” She glanced at the window again before saying, “Excuse me. I need to go inside real quick.”

“Go ahead.” He told her, and he watched Dada enter the diner. The second he was inside, he saw Ruby immediately walk up to Dada, and two seconds later she jumped in place and began speaking rapidly to her. From what he could see, Dada looked embarrassed, but she couldn't seem to stop smiling.

He wondered what that was about.

Dada glanced at him through the window, her expression taking on a hint of shyness at seeing him watching her.

Jefferson thought he felt his heart beat a little harder and a little faster before reminding himself to be careful. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Dada, and he hoped that whatever else happened on Saturday, he could make her happy.

* * *

“You look...weirdly happy.” Emma told Graham while sat in the station.

“What do you mean?” Graham asked with a curious look.

Emma raised an eyebrow. “What I mean is that you’ve been smiling to yourself almost all day.”

“What?” He asked. “No I haven’t.”

Emma sent him a look to let him know that he clearly had.

Graham shrugged. “Things have just been going well, is all.”

“Speaking of which, how’s Declan adjusting to living with you.” Emma asked.

“It’s a process.” Graham said. “I’ve started giving him an allowance for good behavior...and a swear jar to enforce that.”

“You monster.” Emma said in a flat tone, though she couldn’t quite suppress the small smirk that appear on her lips.

Graham laughed a little. “Poor Declan. He’s gotten better at catching himself swearing around me, but that swear jar isn’t exactly empty.”

Graham’s smile then dimmed a bit.

“Uh oh.” Emma commented. “What is it?”

Graham looked uncertain about what he was about to say, but he always did have a hard time keeping things in. “It’s just...sometimes he just seems so on edge. Take chores for example. Sometimes I’ll ask him to do the dishes, and he’ll start glaring at me like I asked him for his egg. Other times I’ll ask him to do the same thing, and it’s like he can’t do them fast enough. I know kids and chores don’t always mix, but sometimes he’s just strangely nervous around me. He’ll get all quiet and watch me like he’s trying to figure out what I’m going to do next.”

“He’s scared.” Emma commented without thinking, as she instantly understood what Declan was going through.

“What? Of me?” Graham asked, both worried and a little hurt.

“Not exactly.” Emma told him. “Look...this kid hasn’t had a lot of stability in his life. I mean, we know what his parents were like. He might be scared that you fostering him might not work out.”

Graham hesitated before asking, “Is that how you felt? In your foster homes, I mean.”

Before Emma could answer - whether she would’ve told the truth or downplayed it, she didn’t know - the phone rang.

Graham answered it. “Hello?” After a pause, Graham rolled his eyes and mouthed ‘Teenagers’ to Emma.

Turns out that when you have teenagers in a sleepy town, sooner or later they’re going to do something to entertain themselves.

There had been reports someone was going around messing with people’s garbage, staying out late at night, and all of the reports said that it was likely a teenager, or even a group of teenagers.

Initially, neither Emma or Graham thought it was dangerous, but given that they’d recently come across kids that weren’t being looked after by anyone, they had been trying to investigate the claims.

“Come on.” Graham told her after he ended the call. “We should see if anyone has seen this teenagers, or teenagers, messing about in town.”

Graham took one half of the town, while Emma took on the other half.

That was how Emma eventually ended up talking to Mother Superior at the convent. This was the most often Emma had even been to any sort of church. Figures that it would be for a crime again.

“I’m sorry.” Mother Superior told Emma. “I haven’t seen anything like that around here.”

Emma asked, “Are you sure? Nothing’s happened around here?”

“I’m sure.” Mother Superior told her.

Emma suppressed a sigh at the lack of a lead. “Well, thanks anyways. Keep an eye out just in case.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” Mother Superior told her. “Would you like some tea and snacks?”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Emma tried to tell her.

“Nonsense.” Mother Superior said with soft insistence. “Can’t fight crime on an empty stomach.”

Seeing that she wasn’t about to get out of this, Emma agreed.

Mother Superior led her down a hall until they got to another waiting area, and Emma sat there while Mother Superior disappeared.

As Emma sat there, she tried not to think too hard about who the kid might be. Maybe it was just a kid, or a group of kids, messing around because they were bored in a town where almost nothing happened (on a regular basis that is).

Or...maybe it was like Ava and Nick Zimmer, or Declan Holtzer, or even like Emma herself.

At this point, Emma wasn’t about to rule anything out.

Emma heard a little gasp near the door of the room. Turning her head, she found a familiar and excitable four-year-old staring at her with paper and a box of crayons in her hands.

“Hi princess!” Mai said, well nearly shouted, with a wave. She began walking towards her before stopping to give an awkward cursty.

“Hi, Mai.” Emma said with a quirk on her lips. “And you can call me Emma.”

“Okay, Emma.” Mai said immediately. She walked closer to Emma and asked, “Do you want to draw with me?”

“I don’t know.” Emma said hesitantly.

Immediately, Mai looked crestfallen. “Oh.” She said as her hands lowered to her side.

Feeling bad at the sad look on Mai’s face, Emma looked around and spotted a nearby table. “Actually...I wouldn’t mind it for a few minutes.”

“Yay!” Mai shouted with a jump, a happy look immediately coming over her face.

“Inside voice.” Emma automatically said, wondering when she became such a mom. Well, she _was_ a mom, but Henry was ten and didn’t need to be reminded of his ‘inside voice’.

“Yay.” Mai whispered with a smile before going over to the table, Emma going with her.

Mai stood up while Emma sat down, so that they were relatively eye level. Mai gave Emma some paper, and told her that she could use some crayons, but Mai kept a possessive hold of one of the pink crayons.

“What are you gonna make?” Mai asked as she started drawing.

“Um, I don’t know.” Emma said, holding a black crayon usefully. “Got any suggestions?”

“A princess.” Mai suggested happily, though keeping intense focus on her drawing.  
  
“Maybe something else?” Emma awkwardly asked. “Like...a house?”

“A castle.” Mai replied.

 _She’s...really invested in the whole princess thing, huh?_ Emma thought to herself. “Alright, I’ll try a castle.”

Emma also wondered where Mother Superior was. Maybe something held her up.

In the meantime, Emma might as well try to do her job.

“So, Mai, have you seen anything weird lately?” Emma asked as she tried to draw a castle.

“Uh uh.” Mai said without looking up, using her arm to block what she was drawing from Emma’s view.

“Really?” Emma asked. “Have you seen anyone go out at night when they’re not supposed to? You know, like when it’s supposed to be bedtime but they’re not in bed.”

“Astrid gets up sometimes.” Mai said. “She goes into the kitchen and gets tea. Tea is gross.”

_Well, so much for that._

“Phoebe goes out too sometimes.” Mai added, immediately peaking Emma’s interest. Realizing what she said, Mai quickly added with a whisper, “Secret.”

“Ah, come on.” Emma softly coaxed. “You sure you can’t tell me.”

Mai looked at her worriedly. “Phoebe’ll get in trouble if I tell. She thinks I’m asleep but I’m not sometimes.”

“I promise, I won’t tell.” Emma lied.

Mai turned her drawing so that it was face down before turning to face Emma, looking at her worriedly. She then held up her hand with her fist clenched, save for her pinky finger. “Pinky promise? You have to pinky promise.” She said seriously.

Emma then mimicked the action, linking her pinky with Mai’s. “Pinky promise.” Emma said.

After releasing their hold on each other, Mai turned around to see if anyone was listening before turning to Emma. Mai whispered, “Sometimes, when it’s after bedtime, I wake up and pretend to sleep. Phoebe leaves sometimes, but she’s not supposed to because Mother Superior says it’s bedtime.”

“Do you know what Phoebe does?” Emma whispers back.

Mai shrugged. “I don’t know. She thinks I’m sleeping.” Mai then pleaded, “Please don’t tell Phoebe I told.”

“I promise, I won’t.” Emma told her.

That’s when Mother Superior came by with a tray of tea and snacks. “My apologies. I ran into a sister who needed trouble.” Mother Superior then looked at Mai. “Mai, were you being nice to our guest.”

“Mhmm!” Mai hummed with a nod before turning back to the paper, turning it over and furiously working on her drawing.

Mother Superior looked at Emma, who nodded in agreement.

“Well, here you go.” Mother Superior said as she put a tray table nearby. “Some snacks and some tea.”

“Thank you.” Emma said as she accepted it. She thought over what Mai said, and while the strength of a pinky promise wasn’t exactly binding, she didn’t want to potentially stir up trouble over nothing. “Say, can you tell me more about Phoebe and Mai?”

“Why, if I may ask?” Mother Superior replied. She then got a look of realization on her face. “You don’t think Phoebe-”

“I don’t know.” Emma told her honestly.

Mother Superior shook her head. “Phoebe has had her troubles, but she’s a good girl. She wouldn’t be involved in something like this.”

“All the same, would it be okay if I talked to her?” Emma asked.

“I’m afraid not.” Mother Superior told her. “She’s currently at the library. She helps out so much at the convent, it’s about time she focused more on her studies. She’s always trying to help out in any way she can. She’s like her mother in that regard.”

That last part was said with an air of both wistfulness and sorrow, and Emma wondered what the relationship between Phoebe’s mother and Mother Superior was like.

After drinking the tea, Emma said, “Well, I’ll swing by another time to talk to her.” At Mother Superior’s protective look, Emma continued, “I have to be thorough.”

Mother Superior nodded slowly. “Of course. Have a good day, deputy.”

“You too.” Emma said, walking towards the door to leave.

“Wait!” Mai pleaded, hurriedly finishing her drawing before bringing it over to Emma. “Here. It’s for you.”

“Uh, thanks.” Emma said as she took the drawing. She looked at it, and saw that there were a couple of blocky figures holding hands in front of what she thought was the convent, but it looked a little too much like a castle too. Judging by the colors used and the heights of the blocky figures, Emma guessed that Mai drew the two of them holding hands.

Looking at Mai, who had a hopeful look on her face, all Emma could say was, “It looks nice.”

“Really?” She asked hopefully.

Emma smiled a little before nodding. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Okay.” Mai replied with a smile, waving with a “Bye!” as Emma left.

Once Emma was in her car, she placed the drawing in the passenger’s seat, and she couldn’t help but smile a little. It was nice that Mai thought she was worthy of a drawing, and apparently one of the two of them holding hands. Emma wondered what happened to her parents, and she also worried that maybe Mai was attaching herself to Emma too fast. She’d seen kids in her foster homes do that right before a potential adoption fell through.

Clearing her mind of such thoughts, Emma put the keys in the ignition, and turned the car on.

In spite of, or perhaps because of, Mother Superior’s protectiveness, Emma now had her eye on a suspect.

* * *

_Thumbelina couldn’t contain herself anymore. She had to ask her mother for the truth. She had to know how much time they had left._

_“Is Blue going to take me away?” Thumbelina asked her mother as she stood on the pages of an open book, while her mother had been pretending to read a book. Thumbelina quickly realized that her mother had been reading the same page for eight minutes._

_Her mother didn’t even seem surprised. “What have I told you about eavesdropping?” Her mother asked her tiredly, finally closing the book and putting it down._

_“Does it matter?” Thumbelina asked, feeling hurt and annoyed that her mother was focusing on that of all things. “Blue wants me to go with her, and I won’t be able to see you anymore.”_

_Her mother pursed her lips, clearly in conflict with herself before saying, “It won’t be forever. She might not even want you to join until you’re a little older.”_

_“I don’t want to go!” Thumbelina protested. “I want to stay here!”_

_“Thumbelina!” Her mother said sharply, her eyebrows furrowing. “You are still my daughter and you still live under my roof, so you will_ not _take that tone with me.”_

_“I might not forever.” Thumbelina attempted to sound strong, but whatever anger and annoyance previously fueled her was overcome by the fear that she wouldn’t see her mother again. She wanted to see the world, but she didn’t want to be cut off from her mother._

_Her mother’s finger, which was about the same size as Thumbelina’s body came into view, came into view. With the tiniest of touches, her mother gently lifted Thumbelina’s head so that she could look at her once more. Her mother’s blue eyes looked so sad, but Thumbelina could tell that she was trying to keep it together._

_Her mother then placed her hand against the table, her palm face up. It was a signal for Thumbelina to get on it, so after wiping a stray tear from her face, Thumbelina climbed on. She kept her balance as her mother lifted her hand up until it was closer to her face._

_“I don’t know what’s going to happen.” Her mother told her. “I don’t know why Blue is so insistent on this, but what I do know is that no matter what happens, nothing will change how I feel about you. You are still my daughter, and I will always be your mother. You understand?”_

_Thumbelina’s lip was quivering, and her throat felt too closed up. She was being dumb. It wasn’t goodbye forever, right? All Thumbelina could do was nod._

_Her mother gave her a firm yet warm look. “Do you understand?” She asked softly._

_“Ye-” Thumbelina cleared her throat, and yet she still ended up giving a wobbly, “Yes, Mother. I love you.”_

_“I love you too, my sweet girl.” Her mother said before bringing her hand to her shoulder so that Thumbelina could hug her. Her mother kept her in place with just her hand as Thumbelina released her pent up emotions._

_“That’s it.” Her mother said. “Just let it out. Ah, you’re just growing up. Going through all of the changes. You’ll learn how to handle these sorts of things.”_

_Before Thumbelina could respond, there was a noise outside. It sounded like the clattering of horse hooves on the road, and she heard people’s voices._

_That didn’t make sense. There were no horses around, and the shack they lived in was in the middle of the forest. Who was it?_

_Thumbelina climbed up to her mother’s shoulder, and held onto it by hanging onto a strand of her mother’s hair, mindful not to pull too hard._

_Her mother parted the curtain of their window, which maintained a crack in it from the time Thumbelina got into a fight with an errant squirrel, and there she saw the source of the noise._

_“It can’t be.” Her mother said as they watched a women exit a horse-drawn carriage. The woman was well-dressed, and surrounded by men in black armor, their faces obscured by black masks._

_“Who is it?” Thumbelina asked before her mother gently grabbed her body. Her mother walked to the other side of the shack, and bent down to place Thumbelina on the floor, right next to an small crack in the wall._

_“You need to hide, quickly.” Her mother said with a touch of fear in her voice. “I’ll try to send them away.”_

_“Why?” Thumbelina asked worriedly. “Mother, who is it?”_

_“It’s Queen Regina.” Her mother replied._

_“The Evil Queen?” Thumbelina asked as her eyes widened._

_“Yes.” Her mother said. “Wherever she goes, nothing good can come from it.”_

_“Whoever lives inside the shack, your queen demands that you present yourself!” A male voice called out._

_“Go, hurry.” Her mother said. “I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come back.”_

_Thumbelina didn’t want to go, but she didn’t know how to help her mother._

_Thumbelina’s mother gave her a stiff smile. “Everything will be alright, my darling. I promise. Now go.”_

_Reluctantly, Thumbelina went through the crack in the wall and went to hide in the grass, her heart pounding as she wondered why the Evil Queen was at their home._

* * *

Whatever else Killian thought of Declan, he knew that he didn’t like the awkward distance that he and Henry were keeping between each other.

His other pseudo-students noticed it too, as did Dada. Even Phoebe, who surprisingly decided to come in after school, eyed the two warily from her seat further away from the desks.

LJ had informed him that the two got into an argument four days ago, and apparently it was still ongoing.

So, Killian placed a hand on the desk Declan was sitting at, and bent down to whisper, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the glaring between you and Henry means that you haven’t made up yet?”

Declan gave him an unimpressed look and whispered back, “No, really?”

Killian shot him a look to make it clear that he wasn’t pleased with it.

Declan tried to turn back to his homework, though Killian noted that he didn’t seem to be doing anything. “Talk to Henry. He’s the one who’s all mad and stuff.”

"I'm talking to you." Killian pointed out. When Declan didn’t respond, Killian grabbed a chair and sat next to Declan, well aware of the eyes of the other children being on him. He was at least glad that he didn’t need the crutch to move around anymore, making his movements a little less awkward. "So, if Henry's the one that's mad, does that mean you said something to him?"

A guilty look flashed over Declan’s face. He tried to shrug nonchalantly as he very quietly whispered, “I just didn’t want him to read his book so much. And...he got mad because I don’t believe in the curse.”

Killian suppressed a sigh. It was no secret that Declan was the most vocal about his lack of belief in the curse, as it was no secret that Henry didn’t take the rejection of his beliefs well. Looking over his shoulder at Henry, he found the boy in question sending glances at Declan. It didn’t appear that he heard what they were saying, but he still seemed hurt over it.

“He already knows that I think he’s crazy.” Declan said bitterly. “I told him that when we got trapped in the mines, but I still like him. He’s my friend."

“Which I imagine is why he feels hurt.” Killian told him. “He feels as if you’re not listening to him.”

“But I listen to him all the time.” Declan protested, finally meeting Killian’s eyes, still aware enough to keep his voice down so that Henry wouldn’t hear it. “I’ve been helping him figure out who people in his book are. I know that he loves that story about Snow White and Prince Charming, and the fact that he can practically say it by heart.”

“I think you also know how Henry feels about being referred to as crazy.” Killian said, and this brought on another shamed look on Declan’s face.

“I didn’t mean to make him feel bad.” Declan said.

“I know.” Killian replied. When Declan gave him a quizzical eyebrow, Killian added, “You’re a foul-mouthed, temperamental child, but you are far from cruel.”

Declan blushed in embarrassment.

“And...you and Henry are still children.” Killian told him. “That comes with a lot of emotions and fighting over things you’ll forget in a few months. Just talk to Henry, and I’m sure the two of you will work it out.”

Declan paused for a moment, looking over Killian’s face warily before sighing with a nod. “Okay. I’ll try.” He said, looking over at Henry with a hopeful expression.

Henry looked over as well, saying nothing, but his features seemed to soften.

Killian nodded before standing up, hopeful that the two of them could talk it out. If not, then he might have to intervene.

Eventually, his pseudo-students left, and he didn’t fail to notice that Henry and Declan didn’t keep as much distance between each other as before.

Killian was surprised that someone other than Dada remained.

“And here I thought you wouldn’t want to come back here.” Killian commented as Phoebe remained in her seat.

Phoebe shrugged. “I have nothing else to do.”

“Other than steal garbage?” Killian asked with an inquisitive brow.

Phoebe fidgeted in her seat. “I don’t think that’s in my future.”

Killian could tell she was telling the truth, but by the way she shifted in her seat, Killian knew something was off.

Just then, Emma came in.

Immediately, Killian felt himself smiling.

Strangely though, he noticed that Phoebe seemed to be doing her best not to look at Emma.

Emma herself was looking at Phoebe with concern.

 _That...can’t be good,_ Killian thought. _Does she know what Phoebe’s done?_

“Something tells me you’re not here for me.” Killian commented.

“No, I’m not.” Emma said, sending him an apologetic look before turning to Phoebe. “Can I talk to you alone?”

“Why?” Phoebe asked, still not looking directly at Emma.

“Emma, if you're here on police business, technically she's a minor.” Killian pointed out.

Phoebe looked panicked at the suggestion. “I’m fine.” She said before subtly rolling her shoulders in an attempt to look nonchalant. She then gave Emma a stiff smile and asked, “What do you need?”

Emma's expression shifted into one of wariness, like she whatever suspicions she had were further confirmed.

“I’ve heard from someone that you’re been out in the late hours.” Emma said.

Phoebe again tried to shrug nonchalantly. “I like to go out sometimes.”

“Do you also like to go out and sneak around people’s garbage?” Emma asked.

Emma’s suspicion took both Phoebe and Killian by surprise, which Emma was quick to notice.

“Something you two want to tell me?” Emma asked, her eyes looking between the two of them. Her eyes were particularly hard when they glanced over Killian.

Phoebe looked cornered, unsure of what to say, probably wanting to do anything to get Emma to stop suspecting her.

Killian sighed. “You want to tell her or should I?”

“You said you wouldn’t tell.” Phoebe shot back at him nervously.

“About what?” Emma asked seriously. “Why are you stealing the garbage?”

“I never said I was.” Phoebe denied.

Emma’s expression made it clear that she didn’t believe her.

Killian wordlessly reached into his pocket and pulled out the incriminating photo.

Phoebe looked at him with betrayal.

“Phoebe, it’s time.” Killian tried to tell her as gently as possible, knowing that Emma was staring intently at the photo in his hand, though still unable to see what was on it.

"So what happened exactly?" Emma asked.

Phoebe crossed her arms over her chest, her cheeks flaming brightly. “I just…” Phoebe trailed off. “I didn’t think it was that bad. I was just trying to help the convent.”

Taking Phoebe’s silence as a cue to finish for her, Killian handed Emma the photo. As she looked at it, Killian said, “The night I was attacked, I went outside because I heard a disturbance.”

Emma looked up shocked.

Killian quickly amended, “Phoebe had nothing to do with it. However, I did find her outside looking through the garbage. She left before my attacked came. And then two nights ago, I found her at it again.” As Phoebe looked embarrassed, keeping her focus firmly on the ground, he finished with, “She’s been selling the contents she finds to someone, but she won’t tell me who. I told her I wouldn’t tell the police so long as she quit.”

“Apparently, she hasn’t.” Emma said as she looked at Phoebe. “We got reports from neighbors that someone was looting through their garbage.”

“Phoebe.” Killian sighed, unable to hide his disappointment.

“We needed the help!” Phoebe burst out, looking at them both with tears in her eyes. “The person I was trading the stuff to...the stuff I got out of it helped out.” Seeing that Killian and Emma weren’t saying anything, Phoebe frantically added, “Mr. Gold _hates_ the nuns, and he’s always hard on them. He only let me and Mai stay because they paid extra, but they’ve been running out of money, and unless they kept paying him they’d have to kick us out.”

A pang of sympathy struck through Killian. If he didn’t believe that she had placed the weight of the world upon her shoulders before, he certainly did now. Especially with her obvious fear that she and Mai would be forced to leave the convent if they couldn’t pay for them, which would lead to them being sent to Augusta and placed into the foster care system.

Judging by the look on Emma’s face, she realized the same thing.

Emma sighed. “Phoebe-”

“Please don’t tell Mother Superior.” Phoebe pleaded, finally standing up to face them. “She can’t know. Please. I promise I-I…” Phoebe sniffled, clearing her throat as her emotions began to spill over.

Killian reached over, about to place his hand on her shoulder, but held back at the last minute. He didn’t know if Phoebe wanted him to touch her.

Phoebe looked over at him tearily, and seemed almost disappointed.

Killian took a chance and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Phoebe’s bottom lip quivered but she nonetheless accepted the touch. “Sorry.” She said in a watery voice. “I’m sorry.”

Emma looked at Phoebe sympathetically, but she still quietly told them, “I can’t let this go. This isn’t going away. We have to talk to Mother Superior.”

Phoebe sent Emma a pleading look, as if asking if they really had to. The silent expression Emma returned confirmed that they did, and with that Phoebe sighed.

Killian sympathized, but this couldn’t go on. They were lucky that no one else found out, and perhaps this way she wouldn’t get a criminal record.

“Go with her.” Killian told Phoebe. “It'll be better explain to Mother Superior if it's coming from you.”

Phoebe still looked worried, but silently nodded nonetheless.

“Come on.” Emma told her. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can figure this out.”

“Okay.” Phoebe said quietly.

Emma turned to Killian, stepping into his personal space. "I'm sorry about this."

"It has to be done." Killian gave her a reassuring smile.

Still, Emma looked worried, but she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later."

"Aye." Killian smiled wider this time, giving Emma a quick peck on the lips.

When he looked at Phoebe, she was staring up at the ceiling, waiting for them to finish.

"Let's go." Emma said, ushering Phoebe towards the door.

Before walking out the door with Emma, Phoebe turned to Killian and said, “Thanks. For trying to help. And...sorry about what I said before.”

Killian shook his head. “Nothing to forgive.”

Phoebe gave him a little shaky smile before following Emma outside.

For Phoebe and Mai’s sake, he certainly hoped that Mother Superior was the forgiving type.

* * *

“You did _what_?” Mother Superior asked Phoebe in a sharp voice, and Emma felt awkward as Phoebe stood in front of Mother Superior with her head down.

It was lucky that they were in a private room in the convent, because Emma really didn’t want to deal with an audience on top of this bit of awkwardness.

Mother Superior hadn’t been at all pleased with what Emma had to tell her.

She especially wasn’t pleased with Phoebe’s silence, as Mother Superior sternly said, “Phoebe Smalls, I asked you a question.”

“It wasn’t…” Phoebe started quietly. “I was just trying to help.”

“By being a thief?” Mother Superior asked incredulously, causing Phoebe to cross her arms and firmly keep her gaze away from the woman. “Who are you trading these things to?”

Phoebe shook her head. “I can’t say.”

“Oh yes, you can.” Mother Superior said with an angry glint in her eyes. “And until you decide to come clean, you are _grounded_.”

“But-” Phoebe started, but stopped when Mother Superior held up her hand.

“Go to your room.” Mother Superior said. “And if you come out of their without permission there _will_ be consequences, do you understand?”

Phoebe looked angry, but nonetheless nodded while biting her lip.

“Go.” Mother Superior told her, and Phoebe soon left to go to her room.

Mother Superior sighed, shaking her head in disappointment before looking back at Emma. “Deputy...does there have to be an official report?”

Emma also sighed. “Honestly, maybe. Phoebe admitted to what she did, and we have proof that she did it.” Not that Emma wanted to do it. After all, Phoebe did something incredibly stupid, but she clearly did it for non-selfish reasons.

Mother Superior took in a calming breath. “Please, Deputy, that isn’t necessary. Phoebe is a good child. She’s never been in trouble before, and from what you told me, she...she was only trying to help, even if it wasn’t the right way to go about. Let me discipline her, and I promise that this will not happen again.”

“I might not have a choice.” Emma admitted. “People have already started to notice what’s going on, and she still stole their property, even if they threw it away.”

“I admit this is troubling behavior, but this isn’t normal for her.” Mother Superior told her, trying to plead Phoebe’s case. “Something must have happened to cause this, but she wouldn’t have done this on her own.”

Emma understood kids acting out, and the reckless shit they got into, so maybe that could be it. “She seems pretty worried about Mr. Gold.” Emma told Mother Superior. “Has anything happened recently?”

“Nothing more than usual.” Mother Superior told her, though Emma thought she detected a little lie. “As I said before, Mr. Gold has never been particularly fond of anyone here. It’s been hard to pay rent and pay his fee for keeping them here. We’ve tried to keep the girls unaware of our money troubles, but Phoebe must have found out somehow.”

Taking a risk, Emma asked, “What about her mom? Could she still be acting out from that?”

Mother Superior replied, “Her mother died not too long ago. It was a difficult time in Phoebe’s life. For all of us really.” Mother Superior pursed her lips, her eyes becoming sad as if looking back on a bad memory. “I knew her mother for many years. I was even the midwife that helped deliver Phoebe. I’ve known that girl since the day she was born, and she’s never acted like this. Isn’t there some way to just...have us take care of it?”

Emma replied, “Look, I get where you’re coming from, but the thing is she still hasn’t said who she’s trading this to. She’s protecting whoever it is, and they might be trouble. They could be dangerous for Phoebe to be around."

Mother Superior paused before suggesting, “Let me try talking to her. If I can get her to say who she’s working for, would that help things?”

“Maybe.” Emma said hesitantly. She didn’t want the kid to end up in jail, especially if whoever she was working with let her take the fall.

 _Sound familiar?_ , a voice in her head asked.

Emma suppressed a shudder before saying, “I’ll give you some time, but not long. If she doesn’t say who she’s trading with, I’m going to have to bring this to Sheriff Graham.”

“Alright.” Mother Superior said with a touch of hope in her life. “I’ll talk to her. Thank you Deputy.”

Emma just nodded, and she began to leave the convent. What Emma didn’t tell Mother Superior was that she doubted that Phoebe would tell them who she was trading it to, especially if she really believed that keeping her mouth shut would help the convent. Emma didn’t talk to Phoebe all that much, but she got the sense that that was a tough kid to crack. She’d only admitted the truth once there was evidence, and right now she probably feels trapped and hurt and scared.

 _Kind of like you when you were around her age_ , Emma thought.

Again, Emma tried to ignore the implications of that line of thinking. Maybe Mother Superior could turn Phoebe around and convince her to talk.

Remembering how she never turned on Neal, even after it would’ve given her a lighter sentence if she did, Emma’s heart clenched. She could always hope, right?

* * *

_Thumbelina waded through the grass near her shack, going around to hide amongst the green blades just in time to see her mother slowly walk out of the shack to greet the Evil Queen._

_Her mother bowed before her, though Thumbelina noticed the stiffness of the motion had more to do with wariness than her mother’s age. “My queen, what can I do for you?”_

_The queen smiled, but there wasn’t a hint of warmth in it. “I want to know where your daughter is.”_

_Her mother looked surprised. “I’m sorry, my queen, but I don’t have a child. I always wanted one, but with my age-”_

_The Evil Queen waved her hand impatiently, silencing her mother. “Enough with the stalling. I know that the Blue Fairy solved your barrenness by granting you a fairy for a child, one the size of a thumb I believe. All I want to do is meet her.”_

_“I’m sorry, Your Highness.” Her mother said slowly, even as the Evil Queen approached her. “I’m afraid I can’t-”_

_Her mother cried out in pain, and it was all Thumbelina could do not to scream as the Evil Queen impatiently ripped out her mother’s heart from her chest. It glowed bright red as her mother breathed heavily in barely suppressed panic, watching as the other woman smirked as she literally held her life in her hand._

_Thumbelina heard her heartbeat in her ears. She’d heard about what the Evil Queen did to those who displeased her. About hearts being ripped out and never returned. Of the people she supposedly enslaved through magic. Would that happen to her mother?_

_No, there had to be a way to save her. Thumbelina couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. But what could she do..._

_“Now, normally I would threaten to have your shack burned down or lock you into the darkest part of my dungeon until your soul broke, but I’m on a rather tight schedule.” The Evil Queen told her. “And unfortunately, the quickest way to dealing with an enemy of mine is to have access to that fairy daughter of yours. Somehow, the Blue Fairy has kept her hidden from me, so that’s where you come in. Really, it’ll all just go a little easier if I get this over with. So…” the Evil Queen brought the heart closer to her lips before saying, “Call for your daughter.”_

_Barely a moment later, her mother, with a pained look on her face, cried out, “Thumbelina!”_

_Thumbelina started shaking, her mind racing with ideas on what to do._

Maybe I can sneak up on the guards? _She thought frantically._ Or-or maybe I should spoke the horses somehow. Come on, think. Think!

_The Evil Queen looked impatient, and squeezed her mother’s heart, causing her to cry out in pain._

_Tears pricked the corners of Thumbelina’s eyes._ Mother needs help, _She thought as her fear mounted, and a cold sweat started breaking out all over her body._ If I call for Blue- no. They might hear me. But I should try right? Right?! No, no, think, there has to be something-

_Thumbelina’s thought was interrupted when she saw her mother clench her fist, and as quickly and as hard as she could, she punched the Evil Queen in the face. The Evil Queen was stunned, and her knights moved forward with her swords. Thumbelina’s heart skipped in the hope that something could be done as her mother screamed, “Run Thumbelina!”_

_Thumbelina remained frozen as one of the knights drew his sword and cut her mother’s legs, sending her to the ground with a sharp cry of pain._

_“That was foolish.” The Evil Queen seethed, squeezing her mother’s heart again as the woman cried out in pain._

_Her mother looked defiantly at the queen as she said, “What’s foolish...is that you think you shall win. The_ true _queen will come back, and then you’ll have no-”_

_Thumbelina’s eyes widened and tears streamed down her face as her mother cried out again, this time a long and pain filled one as the queen, with a look of fury on her face, squeezed her heart until it was reduced to ash._

No… _, Thumbelina thought in denial even as her mother’s body slumped to the ground, the Evil Queen wiping the ashes of what was once her mother’s heart off her hands with annoyance, ordering her knights to search for her. One nearly stepped on her, but that didn’t matter, because her mother wasn’t moving. Her blue eyes, once filled with warmth and happiness, were now sightless and cold._

Just breathe, _Thumbelina pleaded silently as her throat closed up, as her mind felt like it was ripping itself in half because this couldn’t be happening...it just couldn’t._ It’s you...It’s you and me. We were never supposed to be...please just breathe...that way I’ll know...I’ll know that you’re not…

_“Search everywhere!” The Evil Queen ordered as she stepped over her mother’s body. “The sooner we find the little fairy, the sooner I get my hands on Snow White’s heart.”_

_Fear striking her heart, Thumbelina finally gained enough sense to start running. She’d never gone past the trees near the shack, and now she was dashing through the grass and the borders beyond her home in the slim hope that the Evil Queen wouldn’t find her. She had to leave her mother behind, and that caused Thumbelina to finally start audibly sobbing, gasping for air as she tried to create as much distance between her and her home, her mother._

_She had to find Blue. She had to find someone. Someone help. Please, someone help!_

_Thumbelina had just stood there. She hadn’t helped at all. She was useless, and too small and...and her mother was gone. Murdered right in front of her, and she didn’t do a thing to save her._

I’m sorry mother, _Thumbelina thought as she ran for her life, her own heart feeling like it had been ripped out._ I’m so, so sorry.

* * *

It wasn’t closing time, but Killian couldn’t wait. Leaving Dada at the library, taking Lady with him, Killian found himself going to the sheriff’s station. He hadn’t gotten word back as to how things went with Mother Superior, and he wasn’t about to continue sitting on his hands.

He entered the station where he found Emma and Graham arguing.

He only got the tail end of the conversation, as Graham was saying, “-and if Phoebe doesn’t confess, then-”

Graham stopped himself when he spotted Killian, causing Emma to look over at him as well.

“I take it things didn’t go as hoped.” Killian stated.

“No, they did not.” Graham said, scratching the back of his head in irritation. “We might not be able to avoid arresting Phoebe.”

Killian knew Graham was being logical, lawful even, and yet he still felt his hackles rise up.

Emma said, “And like I said, Mother Superior might be able to turn Phoebe around.”

“She still stole those things.” Graham pointed out, though clearly not happy about it. “There’s evidence to that.”

Emma shot back, “There’s evidence that Declan stole from the pharmacy, but you still talked Mr. Clark out of pressing charges.”

Judging by the look on Graham’s face, it was clear that Emma hit a nerve.

So that’s why nothing happened with Declan.

Before they could get into it again, Killian interjected, “Can we stay on point and focus on the fact that we still don’t know who Phoebe’s trading these items to?”

Both Emma and Graham looked embarrassed, but nodded nonetheless.

"Obviously, they scare her." Emma said resolutely. “The whole time we were talking, I got the feeling that Phoebe would rather go to jail than give up whoever it is.”

Graham sighed, “Which means that even if we arrest her, she might not say anything.”

“You think it’ll go that far?” Killian asked warily.

“I have some experience with stubborn kids.” Graham told him. “More to the point, we can’t go around just asking whoever we _might_ think it is. Either they’ll deny it and destroy the evidence, or they’ll deny it and take it out on Phoebe if they suspect that she told us, and we wouldn’t know it until it was too late.”

Picking up on Graham’s tone, Killian asked, “Do you have any suspects?”

“Suspicions, more like.” Graham said. “No one we can link solid evidence to in any case. Did Phoebe say anything to you that might identify this person?”

Killian thought it over, but nonetheless shook his head. Phoebe had been very careful in choosing her words, to not give anything away.

“Great.” Graham quietly said, and yet it just angered Killian more.

That’s when Emma asked, “Graham, you mind giving me and Killian a second?”

Graham paused before saying, “Sure.” He then went to his office and drew the blinds, leaving Killian and Emma alone in the bullpen.

Emma went to stand in front of him. She had a regretful look on her face. “Killian, I get that you like Phoebe, and I know that you feel bad for her, but-”

Killian interrupted. “She’s a good kid, and that’s...part of the reason I want to help her.”

“What’s the other part then?” Emma asked.

Killian hesitated. “It’s that she…” Killian took in a calming breath before saying, “Phoebe reminds me of Liam.”

“Your brother?” Emma asked.

Killian nodded, already feeling part of his mind drift off as he remembered the cold nights spent trying to sleep as Liam tried to keep him way, the tides rocking them as-

 _Wait, the tides?_ He asked himself before banishing those thoughts. He then focused on Emma again, remembering more things about his childhood with Liam.

Killian thought back on how tired Liam looked, how serious he was after having to spend years picking up on where their parents left off. How much he personally sacrificed just to put clothes on Killian’s back and food in his belly. “Liam...didn’t get to have much of a childhood. After our parents died, he always looked out for me. Sacrificed any chance of happiness to make sure that we were taken care of.” Killian felt his mind go far away as he remembered just how much of a toll it took on Liam. “He was the best man I ever knew, but in some ways...he just broke.” Turning back to Emma, whose eyes were a little wide and full of empathy, Killian said roughly, “I don’t want that for Phoebe. I don’t want her to grow up too soon, and I don’t want her to suffer for just trying to help the people she loves.”

Emma paused as she took in his words, and just as he began to worry that he had revealed too much, Emma leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.

Pulling back, Emma said, “We’ll figure something out. We’ll find some way to help her, and to help Mai.”

Killian, too overcome to speak, leaned forward to press his lips against hers, and the two of them began kissing.

Before they could get into it, they heard the door to the bullpen open. Breaking off the kiss, Killian turned around to find Mother Superior entering with Phoebe and Mai.

Mai, immediately spotting Lady, gasped, “Yay puppy!” And she raced forward to first hug Killian’s leg, and then hugged a surprised Emma’s leg before going to pet Lady.

Mother Superior didn’t even try to scold her, as she had a worried look on her face that was only matched by the scared look on Phoebe’s.

Killian immediately knew that things hadn’t gone well at all.

As Mother Superior directed Phoebe to sit on a nearby chair, Emma bent down to Mai and whispered, “Hey Mai, I think Phoebe might need to see Lady. You mind showing her the dog for a sec?”

Mai looked over at Phoebe, and after gaining a worried look on her little face, Mai nodded at Emma before Killian handed Mai the leash. The little girl soon joined the sullen teenager, attempting to get her to pet Lady.

Mother Superior walked in front of them, and they were soon joined by Graham.

Emma was the first to say something. “She didn’t tell you who it was, did she?”

Mother Superior hesitated before shaking her head. “No, she didn’t.” Before anyone could say anything, Mother Superior pleaded, “Sheriff, Deputy, please. Phoebe has never been in trouble before now. Can’t she just...do some community service without a record? Is there something I can do?”

Graham sighed remorsefully. “Mother Superior-”

“Please.” She pleaded once again. “It’s already bad enough that we might not have them for long, but this will only make things worse.”

Killian confusedly asked, “What do you mean?”

Mother Superior looked between the three of them before looking at the girls. She then quietly said, “We’ve been having trouble paying Mr. Gold’s fees. We simply don’t have enough money to keep them anymore. Sister Astrid has been especially devastated, and we were trying to find the right time to tell them that they can’t live with us anymore.”

Killian saw Emma close her eyes and Graham to release a breath in sympathy, even as Killian himself began to try and think of ways to keep them together.

Mother Superior continued, “Phoebe and Mai have been together for so long. Mai can’t even remember a time when she wasn’t around Phoebe. It’s bad enough that they might be separated if put into foster care, but if Phoebe is labeled as a ‘bad kid’, her chances of being taken in or adopted will drop.”

Killian didn’t miss the pained look that briefly came across Emma’s face.

He himself felt sick at hearing the news. Phoebe and Mai were going to be Liam and him. Worse, they were in all likelihood going to be separated. It was what had worried everyone when they found the Zimmer twins, as there was a slim chance that a foster home would take in both of them, especially since they weren’t biological siblings. And like Declan, neither of the girls had living or known relatives.

He had been lucky enough that the court decided Liam was old enough to take care of Killian.

The girls might not have that kind of luck unless he could figure out how to help them. If only there was someone who could take them in...

A light bulb went off in his head, but before he could really process the idea, and think about it, the words left his mouth. "I'll take them in."

Everyone looked at him in surprise. He even thought he saw Phoebe look over, though he didn’t know if she had heard what he said.

“Really?” Mother Superior asked, her tone carefully steady, and yet he caught a hint of hope in there. “Are you sure?”

Killian had said it, hadn’t he? There was no turning back now. “Granted my apartment isn’t that big, but yes. I can take them in.”

“I’ll call Ray.” Graham said without hesitation, immediately going over to the phone to call the lawyer.

Emma looked worried, but he could see the happiness and pride in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

Killian gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes, I am. It will be an adjustment, but we'll manage."

Mother Superior nodded. “Thank you. I truly mean it. Thank you. I’ll tell the girls.”

“Allow me.” Killian said as the three of them walked over to the girls.

“What happened?” Mai asked curiously as Killian kneeled in front of the girls.

“Girls,” Killian started out, suddenly feeling a little nervous, “how would you feel about living with me?”

Phoebe’s face went from worried and sullen to absolutely shocked. “What?”  

Mother Superior supplied, “Mr. Jones has offered to let you live with him.”

“Really?” Mai asked happily at the same time a stunned Phoebe asked, “Why?”

Mother Superior explained the situation to the girls. The two of them were both shocked and dismayed at the idea of not living in the convent, and especially at the idea that they would be separated. Phoebe, for her part, seemed almost angry and perhaps a little worried, though Killian felt like there was something else to it.

Killian said, “I know this is a shock, but if you like, you two can stay with me. That way, you’ll still be together.”

“We get to stay with Lady too?” Mai asked.

Killian smiled. “Yes, you ca- Oomph!” Killian was surprised at Mai’s strength as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Mai said rapidly as Killian hugged her back.

A sob came out of Phoebe, and soon enough the teenager began trying to hold back tears.

“Oh, Phoebe.” Mother Superior said as she went over to place a hand on the girls’ shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Phoebe, it’s okay.” Mai told her, placing one hand on the girl’s knee while keeping an arm around Killian’s neck.

“Nothing.” The girl denied as she looked at Killian, her face now blotchy and pink, with a hint of guilt in her brown eyes. “It’s just...why are you being so nice to us? To me?”

Killian answered, “It’s because I know what you’re going through. I truly do. And I want to help in any way I can, and if it means taking you two in so you’ll be together, then I’ll-”

Once again, Killian was surprised by the strength of a young girl, this time Phoebe as she bent forward to hug him as well, crying a little as she did so.

Killian was just able to keep his balance as he had two young girls hugging him. He turned his head a little and found Emma proudly smiling at him.

He released a small breath. He was no fool. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and this impulsive decision was something he would have to work at. However, he had made a promise to these girls now, and he intended to keep it.

* * *

_Thumbelina was curled under an a somewhat uprooted root, sheltering herself from the open air of the night. Her throat was raw from calling out for Blue, and yet receiving no help._

_Just hours ago, Thumbelina had wondered what life would be like without her mother always being with her. Now…_

_Thumbelina sobbed again, the image of her mother’s lifeless body on the ground ever present in her mind, like needles that she couldn’t remove._

_Where was Blue? Why wasn’t she here?_

_“Help.” Thumbelina muttered as she shivered from the cold. “Someone...please help.”_

_Someone called out from the distance, causing Thumbelina to sit up in surprise. A voice called out again, saying something she couldn’t distinguish. However, Thumbelina felt the ground under her vibrate. Someone was coming._

_Fear gripped her heart. Was it the Queen, or her forces? Did they find her?_

_Just as she was thinking about frantically burrowing into the earth in an attempt to hide, she was surprised by who came into the clearing._

_“Mama!” A baby - no, a toddler - waddled into view. She was dirty and shivering, with short black hair that looked to be tangled. “Mama! Where!”_

_Without thinking, Thumbelina walked out from under the root, and found herself approaching the toddler._

_“Ma-” The toddler stopped when she spotted Thumbelina before babbling to herself as she approached Thumbelina._

_Thumbelina shouted as the toddler tried to grab her, jumping out of the way when the toddler toppled forward and nearly crushed her. “Whoa, stop!” Thumbelina warned as the toddler tried to grab her once more, but Thumbelina was too quick. She wasn’t about to risk the little girl crushing her in her hand. When the child once again tried to grab her, Thumbelina, her nerves frayed and harried from having her life ripped apart in front of her, finally snapped. “STOP!” She screamed as loudly as she could, causing the toddler to pause in shock, but Thumbelina was too far gone to care. She was not about to die because of a child. “I SAID STOP IT! BAD GIRL! JUST STOP!”_

_The toddler sat back on her bottom. And then her lip quivered._

_“Oh no.” Thumbelina said as the toddler began to cry, fat tears streaming down her face, and guilt began to fill her heart. “Oh, no, please don’t cry. Please.”_

_The toddler didn’t hear her, and began calling out for her mama again._

_Thumbelina started crying as well. Here she was, having just lost the only family she’d ever known, yelling at a baby who was lost and didn’t know any better._

_“I’m sorry.” Thumbelina said miserably, and then took a risk as she began to climb on the toddler. She was worried that the baby would flick her off, but instead the toddler cried as Thumbelina stood on the baby’s knee. “Hey, hey I’m sorry. Don’t cry. Shhh.”_

_It took a while, but the toddler finally calmed down, her face pinkish from the crying._

_“It’s okay, I get it.” Thumbelina said, feeling misery fill her heart once more. “I lost my mama too.” Thumbelina then tried to suppress a sob rising in her throat._

_The toddler babbled a bit before saying, “Who?”_

_“My mama.” Thumbelina said, trying very hard not to cry. “She...she…”_

_The toddler did her best to point at Thumbelina without touching her. “Who?”_

_“Oh, me?” Thumbelina asked as she brushed away some tears. “I’m Thumbelina.”_

_“Thubina?” The toddler mumbled curiously._

_“Thum-be-li-na.” She said slowly._

_“Tub.” The toddler said assuredly._

_“Nevermind.” Thumbelina sighed out. “So, what’s your name?” When the toddler remained silent, she pointed at the baby and asked, “Who?”_

_The baby seemed to get it, and slowly replied, “Tien.”_

_“Tien, huh?” Thumbelina asked with a smile. “That’s a nice name.”_

_“Mama?” Tien asked curiously._

_“Sorry, I don’t know.” Thumbelina said. She then saw the toddler shiver, and Thumbelina knew that she had to get her to safety. Thumbelina then clutched onto Tien’s clothing, climbing up until she was on Tien’s shoulder. “Come on. Up. Let’s find your mama.”_

_“Mama?” Tien asked again in surprise._

_“Hopefully.” Thumbelina told her before saying, “Up. Up.”_

_Tien stumbled onto her feet, and Thumbelina tried to keep her balance as the toddler began waddling once more._

_It was at that moment that Tien looked up, and said “Pretty.”_

_Thumbelina looked up as well, and felt as if she could breathe again when she saw a familiar blue and pink light. She called out, “Blue! Nova!”_

_“Thumbelina!” Blue called out as she and Nova floated down in front of their faces. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright.”_

_“Blue, Nova...my mother…” Thumbelina sobbed out._

_“We know.” Nova said with a sad look on her face. “We found her. We...we took care of her body.”_

_“Where were you?” Thumbelina blurted out, and all of a sudden anger began to take hold. “The Evil Queen...she came and tried to find me, but mother wouldn't...I called out for hours. Where the hell were you when we needed you?!”_

_At this, Tien began to start whimpering again, and Thumbelina quickly tried to hush the toddler before she could start crying again._

_“I am so sorry, Thumbelina.” Blue apologized. “The Evil Queen cast some sort of protection spell. We couldn’t find you until recently.”_

_Thumbelina bit her lip, trying to suppress the grief and bitterness she felt._

_“We must go now.” Blue said. “Before the Evil Queen can find us.”_

_“Alri-” Thumbelina started before remembering whose shoulder she was standing on. “Wait, can she come too?”_

_Nova floated curiously around Tien. “Who is this child?” She asked kindly._

_“Her name is Tien.” Thumbelina said. “She wandered in here lost. I don’t know where her mother is.”_

_Blue, with a strange, almost suspicious look on her face, pointed her wand at Tien._

_“What are you doing?” Thumbelina asked._

_“I’m just making sure there are no spells on her.” Blue responded as she waved her wand, and some tiny lights floated around Tien. The toddler looked at the lights with some glee, but Thumbelina watched Blue’s face. Even as the little lights died away, the worried look on Blue’s face never went away, even as she declared that there were no enchantments on Tien._

_“Can she come with us?” Thumbelina asked. “Just until we find her mother?”_

_“Oh, Blue.” Nova said sympathetically, clearly expecting at Blue to agree._

_Blue, to Thumbelina’s surprise, actually looked hesitant. However, Blue ultimately nodded and said, “Alright, but we must go now. Hold on.” Blue once again waved her wand, except this time it caused Tien to float, and Thumbelina along with her._

_Tien began to giggle as Blue’s magic allowed them to fly with Blue and Nova as they ascended into the sky, and Thumbelina knew that the magic was shielding them from the cold._

_Thumbelina has always wondered what it would be like to fly, but she had always thought her mother would be there to see her get her wings._

_“Oh no, don’t cry.” Tien’s little voice told Thumbelina, and when she looked up she found the toddler looking at her worriedly._

_Thumbelina sniffled before forcing herself to smile. “I’m not crying.” She then reached up to pat Tien’s chin. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”_

_“Kay.” Tien said before looking at the ground below, smiling and laughing as they flew through the air._

_A part of Thumbelina worried about them finding Tien’s mom? Was she dead? Did she abandon Tien? What exactly happened that led to Tien wandering in the words scared and alone, just like..._

No, _Thumbelina thought resolutely._ Not just like me. She won’t end up the same way.

_“Whatever happens,” Thumbelina told Tien, “I’ll look after you. I promise.”_

* * *

  _January 18, 2012_

Graham shuddered as he got out of his car and headed to Granny’s. It had been a long day, and he was eager to take Declan home. Thankfully, Mrs. Lucas had offered to look after the boy, though Declan seemed a little worried at the prospect of being around Mrs. Lucas.

It was likely because he was afraid of what the woman might do if he swore around her.

Graham also kept in mind that Nancy’s shift was likely over, and they would talk about what they would do.

When he entered Granny’s, he greeted the owner. “Evening Mrs. Lucas.”

“Evening, Sheriff.” The woman said.

“How did Declan behave?” Graham asked.

“Well enough.” She said. “No worse than Ruby when she was his age, though his language is definitely more colorful.”

“Oh no.” Graham bemoaned.

Mrs. Lucas actually grinned. “Don’t worry. I sorted him out.” Before Graham could ask what she did, she added, “Your boy is in the back, in the break room.”

Graham simply nodded with a thank you before heading there.

He nearly bumped into Nancy, but before he could say anything, she pressed a finger to her lips and nodded to what she was looking at.

There in a big chair was Declan with a sleepy Fernando in his lap, reading a passage from _The Two Towers_ as Fernando kept a slight hold on Declan’s egg.

Declan read, “ _Gandalf laughed._ ” Declan then said in a gruffled voice, as if mimicking an old man, “ _‘A most unquenchable hobbit! All wizards should have a hobbit or two in their care—to teach them the meaning of the world, and to correct them’_.”

“I’m a Hobbit.” Fernando said sleepily.

“Yep, and I’m the Wizard.” Declan told him, reaching over to make sure that the egg didn’t fall. He yawned, ready to continue when he spotted Graham. “Hi.” He said with another yawn, Fernando half-asleep on top of it.

“You ready to go?” Graham said, warmth in his heart at the sight.

“Mind if we finish the chapter?” Declan asked them.

Graham looked at Nancy. “What do you say?”

Nancy paused for a moment before answering, “One more chapter, then we all go home.”

Declan nodded before continuing to read as Fernando snuggled closer to him.

Graham and Nancy stepped outside to give them some space.

“When did that happen?” Graham asked.

Nancy shrugged. “Alan had to run errands, and Declan offered to keep him occupied.”

“He did?” Graham asked.

“Mhmm.” Nancy nodded. “If Fernando didn’t think he was a Hobbit before, he does now. It was sweet of him.”

"It was." Graham said. When there was a pause, he took that as a chance to ask a burning question. “So, have you decided on what you want us to do?”

Nancy looked at him in mild surprise before nodding. “I do.”

Graham nodded, and when she didn’t say anything, he asked, “So what is-”

The words died on his lips as Nancy leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his cheek, close to his lips but just far enough away that it left him wanting for more. He felt the sensation of if he heart was beating hard in chest.

Nancy whispered in his ear, “I think we should pick up where we left off?”

When Nancy leaned back to face him, her eyes darker than usual, Graham asked, “You sure?”

Nancy nodded. “As far as I can tell, there’s really nothing and _no one_ that can stop us. That is...if you still want me.”

Graham responded by leaning forward and giving her a kick kiss on the cheek as well.

Nancy smirked. “You missed.”

“Did I?” Graham asked as he raised an eyebrow in mock confusion. “Care to let me try again?”

Instead, Nancy said, “Come here,” before cupping his face, and bringing their lips together once more.

Graham’s heart was beating faster, his blood was heating up, and his arms moved on their own accord, bringing Nancy closer to him. It had been so long since they’d done this. He vaguely remembered her kissing his forward when he was in the hospital, and he definitely remembered what was meant to be their last kiss in her kitchen.

This was different. Graham and Nancy were pressed against each other, and he could _feel_ that she missed this as much as he did. And oh god did he miss the feel of her. Better yet, he could kiss her without the worry that someone would swoop down and threaten her or Fernando. He was free. He could have this.

Eventually, sadly, they had to break apart for air, and yet they still kept a hold on each other.

“I want you.” Graham quietly gasped out. “And I want this.”

Nancy, with her arms wrapped around his neck, smiled happily. “So it’s a date?”

Graham leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Yes, it’s a date.”

* * *

Mai was dead asleep, and Phoebe envied her. She and Mai shared a bed, so she could hear her little sister snoring like three feet from her ear. At least there was enough space for both of them. Killian moved them into his room while he slept on the couch. She had felt bad about it, but he insisted that it was a temporary solution.

 _He’s looking for a new place,_ Phoebe thought as she stared up at the ceiling. _He’s taken both of us in and is looking for a new place, and I’m the piece of crap spying on him._

Phoebe tried to stamp down her guilt, but she didn’t succeed. She had tried to get out of the deal with Mr. Gold, but he had just made his threats again, and his promises that telling him what she learned about Killian would shave off some of the nuns’ debts.

Even if she didn’t live in the convent anymore, Phoebe still had to pay them back for looking after her and Mai as long as she could.

 _Gold was totally gonna kick us out anyways_ , Phoebe thought bitterly.

Oh, she had definitely told him about that, but he didn’t care. Why would she think he would?

What was she thinking? Killian had been nothing but nice to her and Mai. He’d gotten them a dog, and now he was their foster dad. What had she done to deserve that?

She couldn’t tell him the truth though. Who knows what Gold would do to Mai if she told?

Maybe...maybe if she just said little stuff, nothing too big, then she’d be keeping up her end of the deal. Yeah, that could work. She just had to be sneaky enough to not make Gold suspect anything.

Phoebe swallowed a lump in her throat. She had a home now with a really nice man, and she was working against him.

 _Mom would be so ashamed_ , she thought, and it brought tears to her eyes.

Phoebe turned her head to look at Mai, and she quietly cleared her throat.

She would make it up to Killian...somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! This chapter is DONE! WOOOOO!
> 
> Lol sorry, this just had to go through a number of rewrites, and I’m just so happy this is done.
> 
> So people are going on dates on the weekend, and Killian has just taken in two girls (passionateswan88, this is what I was talking about :P ).
> 
> Let me know what you think below!
> 
> See you same time next week!


	20. Forged Under Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, people go on dates, friendships are mended, and things get out of hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Canon OUAT is owner by Adam, Eddy, and ABC (and Disney).
> 
> Another Disclaimer: The legal stuff I talk about in the last scene if from my own limited knowledge as a non-lawyer, and also Google, so please forgive any inaccuracies (but also please tell me about them). 
> 
> Special thanks to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_January 20, 2012_

Henry was on his way outside for recess when Declan grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Hey, Henry?” Declan asked. “Can we talk?”

Henry hesitated. Declan had tried to be nicer, but Henry was still a little hurt over Declan’s lack of belief. Still, Henry had to admit that he kind of saw it coming, and truth be told, he missed talking to Declan. The days spent avoiding each other or not really talking to each other hurt him more than he thought it would.

Seeing his friends eyeing them, Henry nodded before following Declan to a more secluded part of the playground.

“What is it?” Henry asked as they stood away from the other kids.

Declan looked annoyed at Henry’s tone, but stamped it down in order to say, “I’m...sorry. If I made you feel crazy.”

Henry looked surprised. Declan...just apologized? He couldn’t help but ask, “Uh, what?”

Declan looked away in irritation. No, in _embarrassment_. “I’m sorry if I made you feel crazy.” He mumbled.

“Um...okay.” Henry said. Then he sighed. “I guess it’s fine. I know you don’t believe in this stuff. It just...hurt you know?”

“I still don’t believe in it.” Declan said, and before Henry could feel hurt again, he continued, “And I don’t know why you believe in it, but...I don’t want you to feel bad about yourself.” Declan looked at Henry guiltily. “I’m...I’m an asshole, okay. I say stupid shit and I don’t think sometimes, but you’re one of my best friends. I don’t even want to be the reason why you feel shitty.”

Henry felt simultaneously confused but also a little happy. He couldn’t help but give a confused little smirk. “That’s like the best and worst apology I’ve ever gotten.”

Declan gave him a flat look. “No, tell me what you really think.”

A second later, Declan couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“So,” Declan started, “are we friends again?”

Henry pretend to think about it. “Well, you do owe me some compensation.”

“Eh, forget it.” Declan said as he began to walk away, though his tone gave away that he was joking.

Henry laughed as he caught Declan’s arm. “Okay, yes. We’re friends again.”

Declan smiled at him. “Cool.”

“Come on.” Henry said. “Let’s play with the others before recess is over.”

Declan nodded and they joined the others...who began clapping like an audience giving a standing ovation, complete with LJ whistling and Nick pretending like he was dabbing tears from his eyes with his sleeve.

“You guys are hilarious.” Declan said in a deadpan tone.

“So everything’s good now?” LJ asked. “You guys are okay, because this divorce thing was tearing the family apart.”

Declan started, “Of for fu-”

“Anyways!” Henry piped up. “We’re good now. Now let’s play before recess is over.”

That hurried everyone into action.

* * *

“I think he likes you.” Freddie commented as Copper pawed at David’s leg. “He definitely likes Mary Margaret.”

"He's a puppy.” David argued as he bent down to pick up Copper. “He likes everyone."

Copper licked David’s face, and David shot Freddie a ‘See? I’m right’ look.

Freddie took that look and raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And why is it that the minute this one escaped, he just so happened to run straight to Mary Margaret, and whined the whole time when he was separated from her?”

He...was right. Copper had been downtrodden the whole way back to the shelter after Mary Margaret gave him back, and damn if he didn’t seem to know how to use those big, brown, puppy dog eyes of his.

“Personally, I’m just kind of hoping she’ll adopt him.” Freddie said. “If she has the time and money of course.”

David shrugged at that. He wasn’t really sure of either of those factors.

“So…” Freddie drew out, and David knew what was coming.

“Before you ask, yes, things between me and Mary Margaret are going fine.” David told him as he put Copper back in his cage, the puppy pawing at the bars. “We’re making sure to be seen around other people, and we’re still making sure that we’re just friends until the divorce is over.”

“That’s good.” Freddie said.

“What about you?” David asked.

Freddie seemed a little surprised. “What about me?”

“Well, I’m starting to realize that we always talk about me and my problems.” David said with a touch of guilt, having realized that he may have taken this friendship for granted. “What’s going on in your life?”

Freddie paused with uncertainty before shrugging. “Uh, nothing much.” He answered. “Just day-to-day stuff.”

David asked, “Well, you ask me about Mary Margaret and my divorce. Anyone you interested in?”

“No.” Freddie shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. “Not much I could give them anyways.”

“Hey, that’s not true.” David said, not liking the way Freddie was treating himself. “You’re nice, you’re handsome, and you’ve head on your shoulders.”

A look of vulnerability flashed over his face before Freddie smiled and asked, “You think I’m handsome.”

Seeing what he was doing, David still smiled and said, “Yes, you are very handsome, and anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Freddie, because he could be a dramatic little shit sometimes, grabbed David’s hand at the same time he placed a hand over his heart. “David, I never knew how you felt until now.”

David rolled his eyes. “That's the thanks I get for being a good friend.”

Freddie released him, and took a step back with a dramatic gasp. “‘Friend’?” Freddie asked incredulously. “Is that all I am to you? A _friend_?”

David gave in and sighed dramatically. "Freddie, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I'm straight. That kind of love between us can never be,”

Freddie’s jaw dropped, because damn if he was going to break the momentum. “Well, I have a confession as well. _I’m_ straight.”

David tried to gasp, but ended up breaking down into chuckles.

Freddie laughed as well. When the two of them finally calmed down, Freddie said with a final chuckle, “No, there’s no one in my life like that.”

David said, “I'd offer to set you up, but most of the women I know either aren't my biggest fans or they're dating all of my other friends.”

“Darn.” Freddie replied with a snap of his fingers. “Probably just as well. Like I said, I don’t know what I could offer them like this.” Freddie then gestured to his janitorial uniform.

David wasn’t having it. “And like I said, you have plenty to offer. Besides, when it comes to relationships, it’s not about the money. It’s how you feel. If it _is_ about the money for them, then they’re missing out.”

Freddie smiled shyly at him. “I think for now I’m good with just having friends.”

David, deciding that he kind of wanted to be a shit again, acted offended. “Oh, _just_ a friend then? I see how it is.”

Now it was Freddie’s turn to roll his eyes. “Come on, we’ve got to get back to work.”

“Fine, fun ruiner.” David said. “Speaking of friends, we should probably spend some time with them after their dates are over.”

“Mhmm.” Freddie hummed. He then got a mischievous look in his eyes. “Hmm, I wonder how Ray’s going to handle his date with Ruby.”

“I hope he has fun.” David said.

“Me too.” Freddie replied. “That man seriously needs to get out more.”

“Let’s hope Ruby goes easy on him.” David added as they got back to work.

* * *

There were number of men and women who looked at Ray with jealousy, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t understand it. Ruby was an attractive woman, and damn if he had any clue as to what he was supposed to say to her.

Even LJ, who had tried to help him pick out an outfit for their ‘date’, suggested he put his lawyer talk to good use.

 _Woo her with your silver tongue or whatever that’s supposed to mean_ , LJ had told him. _Declan said something like that._

His nephew had some strange friends. He'd also have to talk to Declan about lawyer jokes around LJ. He seriously doubted that _Graham_ of all people was going to come up with that.

“So, how have things been going lately?” Ray asked Ruby as they sat at the bar waiting for drinks.

“Boring, as usual.” Ruby said. “Granny’s been on me all week for taking Friday off.”

Ray winced in sympathy. “Sorry about that.”  

Ruby waved a hand away. “It’s fine. So, what about you? Win any big cases lately?”

Ray pretended to be offended. “Ruby, you know I can’t divulge any client secrets.”

Ruby batted her eyes at him. “Not even a little bit?” Ruby asked with a pout.

Ray shrugged in a chagrined manner. “You know how it is. Being honor-bound and stuff.”

 _Honor bound?_ , Ray berated himself in his mind. _Why don’t you just add that we’re in a ‘ye olde tavern’ while you’re at it?_

“Honor bound?” Ruby echoed as their drinks finally came around. “You sure do take this seriously.”

“I kind of have to.” Ray replied, reminding himself to keep it cool. “It’s my job.”

“At least your job is interesting.” Ruby said before she took a drink. “You don’t have to deal with my grandmother all day.”

Ray replied, “I think I might prefer her to Judge Herman.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t seen Granny when Leroy orders all the bacon before breakfast rush.”

Ray winced, quietly sucking in a breath through his teeth. “You know, I’m somehow both surprised and _not_ surprised.”

As Ruby cracked another smile, Ray took a drink, desperately trying to think of what else to say. Truth be told, he didn’t actually want to leave. LJ was at a friend’s house, and everyone else was doing their own thing tonight, so it was just him and Ruby.  

Ruby was good company too. Even when he faltered in initiating conversation, strangely unable to think of anything to say, she easily picked up the slack and kept it going. They kept talking about their jobs, their friends - apparently, Dada had something to do with this night, but Ruby was being coy about the details - and generally everything else they could think of.

“I’ve got to say.” Ray said. “I don’t think Storybrooke’s ever been this eventful in the time I’ve been here.”

“In the time you’ve been here?” Ruby echoed curiously before it dawned on her. “Oh yeah, I heard that you weren’t from around here. Where are you from again?”

Ray shrugged. “Nowhere special.” At Ruby’s urging look, he said, “It was one of those old England-ish towns, you know? Okay, maybe not the best description, but it really wasn’t anything special. I haven’t been there in years.”

“Why’d you come to Storybrooke?” Ruby asked curiously.

Ray tried to think of an answer, and in the end he just kind of shrugged and said, “It just kind of happened. I started living here with my cousin and my best friend.” Overcoming the old hurt that echoed throughout his heart, Ray said, “They moved on. I didn’t. I had responsibilities here.”

Ruby gave him a sympathetic look as she nodded silently.

Ray was quick to assure her, “It’s not all bad. I like the people here, and LJ is finally starting to make friends. This isn’t a bad place to live.”

“But there are more places to go to.” Ruby pointed out. “Think about it. If you wanted to go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?”

Ray tried to think on it. “Um...maybe somewhere in Europe.”

“Ooh, like Paris?” Ruby asked. “Or Barcelona?”

“Probably.” Ray nodded with a little smile. “And why stop there? Maybe I could go further outwards, like somewhere further east.”

“You might need some company.” Ruby said, her hand inches away from his.

Ray tried and failed not to chuckle nervously. He couldn’t help but say, “You have anyone in mind?”

"Maybe." Ruby dragged out the word coyly, as she leaned closer to him.

Feeling a little confident, Ray inched his hand a little closer to hers, even as his own heart started to beat harder than usual. “You gonna make me guess?”

“If you want, I can give you a hint.” Ruby said.

Ray pretended to think about it. “Alright, I’ll take the hint.”

Without another word, Ruby leaned forward to press a kiss on his cheek.

When she pulled back, Ray’s surprise was replaced by a shy smile that appeared on his face. This...was a first for him, and he liked it.

Ruby leaned in again, this time to kiss him on the lips, and Ray couldn't help but let her take control. Ray had never done this before, so at first he stiffened when he felt Ruby press her lips against his. He reminded himself to relax, because this _very_ nice. He began kissing Ruby back when she cupped his face with her hand, and tried to ignore his fears that he might be doing this wrong. He barely even realized that he had not only leaned into the kiss, but he had placed his hand on Ruby’s knee.

Eventually, the two of them broke off the kiss, and pulling back, Ray saw that Ruby’s face was a little flushed. He imagined his own face was the same way.

His skin felt alight, and he couldn’t really stop smiling. He suppressed the urge to touch his lips, and he honestly had no idea that kissing was supposed to feel this good. It was an incredible experience, and he hadn’t realized until now what he had been missing.

Ruby smiled at him, her green eyes somehow brighter than they already were.

If Dada really did have a part in getting them to this point, he had to do something to thank her.

“You got the hint?” Ruby asked cheekily.

“Yeah.” Ray replied with a small smirk. “I think I got it.”

The two of them began talking more, this time occasionally holding hands.

As the hour became late, Ray, the gentleman that he was, offered to escort Ruby home. Ruby accepted, and the two of them walked arm-in-arm back to the inn.

Once there, several feet away from the front door of the inn, Ruby stopped them. She leaned up to press another kiss against his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Ray couldn’t help but smile into the kiss.

When Ruby leaned back, she quietly told him, “You know, if we’re real quiet, we can probably get to my room without anyone noticing.”

Feeling his cheeks heat up at the implication, Ray politely said, “Um, I don’t think tonight would be a good night.”

“Why not?” Ruby asked. “I’m looking forward to it.”

 _Oh boy,_ Ray thought. He would probably like it too, and even though this was a night of first for him, he wasn’t about to risk doing something wrong for his, well, his first time. “I had a lot of fun.” Ray told her. “How about...we do this again next weekend?”

Ruby looked a little disappointed that he wouldn’t go up to her room, but she pretended to give a disappointed sigh and said a drawn out, “I guess.” She then smiled at him again before giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

Once the kiss was over, Ray released his hold on her, and Ruby began walking backwards towards the door. “Goodnight.” She told him.

“Goodnight.” Ray said before Ruby turned around to open the door. She looked at him one last time before stepping inside.

Ray released a breath, another smile breaking out on his face. As first kisses go, this was pretty good. Ray turned around and began his journey to pick up LJ, touching his lips as he remembered the feeling of Ruby and her warmth.

He had a lot of fun, and he found himself genuinely excited for their next night out.

* * *

  _January 21, 2012_

“Relax, it’s going to be fine.” Ruby told Dada before she hurriedly served someone’s plate. “You look great, and you’ll have a fun time.”

Dada looked down at her outfit. It was nicer than her usual casual clothes. After all, it was early in the morning on a Saturday, no need to go overboard.

However, no matter how much Ruby told her to relax, Dada just couldn’t. Furthermore, her worries on how it would go was matched by her anticipation.

 _It’s a casual date_ , Dada told herself. _You’ve gone out with him before. Just...not kind of hoping that he’d kiss you by the end of it._

That thought had been circling her mind since Ruby called her to let her know that she and Ray had kissed. At first, Dada was happy for them. After all, Ray needed to get out more - and coming from her, that was saying a lot. However, she ended up staying up longer because she wondered what it would be like to kiss Jefferson. To feel his lips against her. She’d even wondered how she could try to breathe just so they could keep going.

“Ah, there he is.” Ruby told her before giving her a quick hug. “Show him a good time.” She added with a wink before walking away.

Dada looked through the window and found Jefferson standing in the courtyard.

 _You can do this,_ Dada said as she stood up and walked outside. _You can totally do this._

“Hey.” Dada greeted him with a smile as she stood in front of him, looking up into his blue eyes.

“Hey yourself.” Jefferson said. “You ready to go?”

Dada nodded, and together the two of them walked off. As they did so, Dada got the sense that something was on Jefferson’s mind. She had tried asking him about it, but he just shrugged it off and said it was nothing. It didn’t feel like nothing to her.

 _We’re off to a great start_ , Dada thought sardonically.

They eventually made their way to a quiet cafe that overlooked the beach. Since it was still fairly early and a little further away from the center of time, there weren’t many people there. Dada liked it because once they entered it, Jefferson didn’t immediately freeze up to evaluate if he could handle the stress of having a bunch of people around.

Once they ordered their food and were seated, Dada asked. “So, how have you been doing?”

“Alright.” Jefferson said as he looked out at the beach. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before.”

“Me either.” Dada said. “My boss recommended this place.”

Jefferson nodded thoughtfully, and Dada got a stronger feeling that something was bothering him.

“Jefferson,” Dada started, “are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Jefferson told her, and she knew it was at least partly a lie.

So, Dada tried another tactic. “Did you at least get to town alright?”

Jefferson nodded. “Yep. Walking from my house to the town at least keeps me warm.”

This sparked interested from Dada. “By the way, you’ve never told me where you lived.” She commented before adding in an embarrassed tone, “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Jefferson assured her with a small smile. “It’s a house that’s practically in the forest.”

“Really?” She asked intrigued.

Jefferson shrugged, not too interested in talking about himself.

 _Really, truly, this date will be the stuff of legends,_ Dada thought to herself. Still, she had to try something out. “You mind if I see it sometime?” She asked him. “Only if you’re up for it.”

"What's new in your life?" Jefferson evaded, leaning a little backwards in an attempt to look nonchalant.

Dada knew what he was doing, and she also knew that pushing it would just make him antsy. So, she started listing things off. “Well, nothing much really. Just going to work, Killian took in some kids, my birthday’s next month.”

“Wait, your birthday’s next month?” Jefferson asked before adding, “And your boss took in some kids?”

“Mhmm.” Dada replied. “Wait, did I not tell you about Killian?”

“Nope, and not about your birthday either.” Jefferson said. Then, as if partly to himself, he said, “I haven’t...really been checking on things lately.”

“Oh.” Dada let out. “Well, yeah. Killian took in two girls, which I think is really great of him. Plus the girls are super sweet. The younger one loves Lady, and the older one is always trying to help out at the library.”

“And he just took them in?” Jefferson asked in surprise.

Dada felt a swell of pride for her boss. “Yep. I think it kind of took him by surprise too, but between you and me, Killian’s a big softie deep down. Don’t tell him I said that though.”

Jefferson chuckled.

“What is it?” Dada asked with a curious smile.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Jefferson told her. “I just never would’ve pegged him for a softie.”

Dada gave him a playful look. “That’s probably a fair judgement since you’ve never met him, right?”

Jefferson’s smile oh so minutely dampened before he nodded. “True. I’ve never talked to the man directly. I’ve just seen him around town.”

“Maybe you two should meet sometime then.” Dada lightly suggested. “Then you can make your own call then.”

“Maybe.” Jefferson said non committedly. “Also, I think you’ve been kind of avoiding talking about your birthday.”

Dada shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Besides, it’s less than a month away.”

“Exactly.” Jefferson pointed out. “It’s less than a month away. Do you have any plans?”

Dada shook her head. “Depending on the day of week, I’ll probably just work.”

Jefferson wasn’t satisfied. “All you ever do is work. It’s your birthday. You deserve to celebrate.”

Dada felt a shy smile come over her face at Jefferson’s earnestness. "It's just another day."

“No, it’s not.” Jefferson told her sincerely, his face softening as he looked at her. “It’s...it’s your day. You deserve to be happy about that.”

Dada felt her body relax as she looked at Jefferson. A part of her waited for him to laugh off what he just said, and when that didn’t happen, she couldn’t stop the small smile from growing on her face. Nor could she stop the way her fingers itched to touch his hand, or the way her heart seemed to beat louder than it had before.

Just then, their order was called, breaking their reverie. However, even when they brought back the food to their table, to her mild surprise, Jefferson seemed set on planning something for her birthday.

“It doesn’t have to be anything big.” Jefferson assured her. “The two of us could go wherever you want.”

“Including your house?” Dada joked.

Immediately, Jefferson nodded with a “Sure.” before he seemed to realize what he had just agreed to.

To ease his worries, Dada calmly replied, “It’s okay, I was just joking.”

Jefferson paused before saying, “It’s your birthday. Whatever you want is fine with me.”

Given how antsy he seemed about talking about his house before, Dada was a little surprised by his offer. At the same time, she was kind of excited to see where he lived. However, she simply said, “I’ll think about it.”

After that, they mostly concentrated on her food, and enjoyed the quiet of the morning. Eventually, after finishing, the two of them decided to walk along the beach. They were alone, which was just find by them.

“You have any plans after this?” Dada asked, spotting a log a few feet in front of them.

Jefferson shook his head.

Dada said, “If you want, I could introduce you to some people. There’s Ruby, Ray, and Killian.”

Jefferson shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you think I need to meet new people?”

Dada replied, “Hey, you do you is all I’m saying.” She then walked a little faster so that she could stand on the log.

“Careful.” Jefferson said as he stood next to the log.

That’s when she noticed something. “Ah, finally, I’m taller than you.” She announced smugly, meeting the man eye-to-eye.

Jefferson raised an eyebrow before he simply lifted himself up on the balls of his feet, so that he was once again taller than her.

“No, stop it.” Dada laughed as she placed her hands on his shoulders. She ignored the feeling she got as she felt the firmness of his shoulders, pushing down to make him rest on his heels again. Jefferson smiled, his eyes brighter as tried to resist her.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been paying attention to her own footing, and she nearly tripped off the log.

Instinctively, Jefferson’s hands shot forward to steady her, landing on her hips. “You okay?” He asked, and then paused when he realized that there faces were now inches apart, but had yet to pull his hands back. “Dada?” He asked, though his voice was softer now, his eyes not breaking contact.

Dada’s eyes drifted down to his lips, her hands still on his shoulders, and on impulse, she used them to steady her as she leaned forward to press her lips against his.

The fear that perhaps she’d gone too far was there, but at the moment it was outweighed by the way her heart hammered against her ribs. Her eyes were closed, and to her, the only things that existed right now were her and Jefferson. She pulled back by inch, her eyes still closed, and she took in a small yet sharp breath through her nose when she felt Jefferson leaned in to kiss her back.

Finally, she opened her eyes, and she found Jefferson looking at her with a mixture of want and apprehension. The desire in his eyes made her want to smile, but the tiny bit of apprehension worried her.

Then, Jefferson quietly, in an uncertain tone, asked, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yeah.” Dada responded just as quietly. "You?"

Jefferson thought about how to word his answer. He hesitated before saying, “I do. I just...I just don’t want to hurt you.”

Dada couldn’t help but smile a little incredulously. “You could never hurt me.” She assured him. “You always make me happy.”

For his part, Jefferson was surprised by Dada’s words. Oh, he was definitely surprised by the kiss. Also, despite his own attempts to hold himself together, he couldn’t help but kiss her back, and he certainly welcomed it. But...he made her happy? Really? He hadn’t done much, and yet here she was, her hands touching him, looking at him with a soft expression that was combined by her gentle brown eyes.

She had certainly made him happy. For the first time in years, he had felt _alive_ again.

That’s why he couldn’t help but asked, “I do?”

“Mhmm.” Dada hummed as she nodded, finally stepping off the log. Before he could pull back, she loosely wrapped her arms around his neck, and he couldn’t help but gently hold her around the waist.

He should break it off, tell her no. What if this wasn’t really her?

Dada looked him straight in the eye as she said, “I’ve never done this before. I don’t really know what to do, but...this feels right. So...why not at least try it out?”

 _Can I do that?_ , Jefferson asked himself. _Just try it out?_

He wanted to, but the fear was still there. The curse had been weakening. From what he could tell, people were acting like they would’ve back in the Enchanted Forest. Prince Charming left his fake wife, and by all accounts he was still over the moon about his real wife. Even the sheriff, who had been Regina’s puppet for years, broke away from her, and he even fostered a boy and took up with a local woman.

Even since Emma came to town, things had been progressing, and granted some things were a surprise - like Hook having a soft spot for kids - but still...

Maybe...maybe if he could find a way to know _for sure_ that this was really her, that she truly wanted this, then…

Jefferson nodded. “Okay.”

Dada gave him a wide smile. “Really?” She asked in an excited voice before visibly trying to look calm, then nonchalantly adding, “I mean, if that’s what you want.”

Jefferson couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Yeah.” Jefferson said before adding, “Let’s take it slow though.”

“Definitely.” Dada said in a relieved voice as she nodded her head. She then released her hold on his neck before wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug.

Jefferson hugged her back, and started trying to think of a way to find proof. He didn’t want to wake her up, force her to live with two sets of memories for his own peace of mind, but he had to find something to assure himself of.

Whatever else he might be - a former thief and conman, a failure of a father - he wasn’t about to add ‘someone who hurt Dada’ to his list of bad deeds.

* * *

Killian felt a little embarrassed by the way Phoebe and Mai started clapping when they saw his outfit.

“You look pretty.” Mai commented, with Phoebe laughing at Killian’s embarrassment.

“Thank you.” Killian said. He was sure that his face was red. His ankle and ribs were fully healed now, or close enough, and he wanted to make up for lost time. He had worried that his and Emma’s date would have to be put on hold, but Mary Margaret immediately volunteered to look after the girls. Still, a part of him felt bad.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright at the loft?” Killian asked them. “I can just call Emma-”

“Uh uh!” Mai interrupted him, quickly shaking her head from side-to-side.

As she helped Mai put on her coat, Phoebe added, “You guys should have fun. Just be responsible and everything should be fine.”

Killian raised an eyebrow at her wording. “What do you meant by ‘be responsible’?”

Phoebe ignored him and put on her coat. She then put a leash on Lady and said, “Come on, you’re gonna be late.”

Killian paused before shaking his head, putting on his coat before grabbing the keys. He and the girls exited the apartment, and then walked down to the library.

Once Dada, who was working late, had him in her sights, she immediately whistled.

“You’re all terrible.” Killian told them with a flat look.

Dada smiled shamelessly, though it was likely a side effect from her getting a boyfriend. Oh, she had tried to keep it to herself, but when she wouldn’t stop smiling the whole day, he finally had to ask.

And still she didn’t stop smiling.

“You look great.” Dada told him as she opened the door to the library. “Have fun.”

Killian smirked and asked, “You just want me out of the way, don’t you?”

“Only because I care about you.” Dada replied as he and the girls excited the library, shutting the door with a “Goodnight!”

As they walked towards the loft, Mai grabbed his right hand and held on as they walked down the street. “Are you and Emma gonna kiss?”

 _These girls I swear…_ , Killian thought, feeling an awkward smile appearing on his face. “I don’t know.”

“Why not?” Mai asked, and Killian saw Phoebe tried really hard to act like she was only interested in keeping Lady on the path.

Trying to explain this as delicately as possible, Killian said, “Well, that’s because adults just have to, well, figure these things out.”

If anything, Mai looked more confused, and Phoebe was pursing her lips in amusement.

Mai tried to continue asking him more questions, but Killian dodged it by asking her about school. Mai was thankfully distracted, and began going at length about new games she played. She had also been talking about her new home situation to all of her classmates. Phoebe stiffened up, but before she could say something to Mai, and before Killian could ask her about it, that’s when Mai explained how she told the story to classmates.

“I said that my new dad works at the library.” Mai told him as walked before staring at Lady in curiosity.

Killian was surprised, and didn’t know what to say. He was certainly their foster dad, but did Mai understand this distinction? More importantly, how much did it matter? This wasn’t a temporary situation, but the idea that he’d be a father of any kind seemed, well, surprisingly. Not unwelcome, but surprising.

It was certainly something he never expected to happen in his life. Hoped for, sure, but expected, not really.

Seeing Killian’s silence as wariness, Phoebe awkwardly interjected, “She’s just getting used to everything. She doesn’t know stuff.”

“Yes I do!” Mai protested, although Killian got the sense that she didn’t know what she was protesting.

Before more could be said, Killian spotted the loft, and pointed it out to the girls.

Mai jumped excitedly and tugged on Killian’s hand. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”

Killian couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright, we’re hurrying.” Sending a look to Phoebe, the four of them picked up the pace.

By the time they made it to the front door of the loft, Mai was buzzing with excitement.

“Remember to behave.” Killian told them. “You are guests and should treat Mary Margaret with respect.”

Phoebe looked like she was barely suppressing an eyeroll. “It’s almost like you think we’ve never been guests at someone’s place before.”

Before he could respond, the door opened to reveal Mary Margaret. “Hi.” She greeted. “Please, come in."

They all greeted her and entered the loft.

“Hi Lady!” Henry greeted, eagerly petting the puppy before noticing the two girls staring curiously at him. “Oh, hi guys.”

“Henry, what are you doing here?” Killian asked.

“I escaped of course.” Henry replied as he got Lady’s leash off.

“From where?” Mai asked curiously.

Henry got a mischievous glint in his eyes before saying, “The Evil Queen’s lair.”

Even Mary Margaret’s soft admonishment didn’t prevent the look of astonishment on Mai’s face.

Phoebe shook her head at the little girl’s naivete.

“Emma will be out in just a minute.” Mary Margaret said.

Killian nodded. Now that Mai and Phoebe's attention was elsewhere, he was starting to realize his nervousness.

Killian and Emma spent a lot of time together, but this was only their third official date. Okay, perhaps their second official date. He certainly didn’t discount their impromptu hospital date, but at the same time, he was aware of how early they were into a romantic relationship. He didn’t want to potentially do something to scare her off, or lead to a scene like what happened at the docks.

He was broken out of his reverie by Emma’s voice, and when he turned his head, he nearly lost his breath.

She never ceased to stun him. She certainly looked nice, but he still couldn’t get used to just how beautiful she was. She was wearing a deep red dress with long lace sleeves and an off the shoulder neckline. The skirt of the dress had a pouf-like style that went down to her knees. Looking further down, Killian found that she was wearing high-heeled black boots, and the top of those ended halfway up her calves.

Emma smiled at him before noticing the girls and Lady. “Hi girls.”

“Hi Emma.” The girls replied while Lady happily padded over to Emma, to which Emma bent down to pet her.

“Come on.” Henry said as he grabbed a nearby black wool jacket with black buttons, a scarf with different shades of red, and a purse that Killian realized was Emma’s. He then handed them to Emma and began gently nudging her towards Killian. “You guys are wasting daylight.”

“It’s the evening.” Phoebe pointed out, even as she was also hurrying Killian towards the door.

“Same difference.” Henry pointed out.

“Okay, okay, we’re leaving.” Emma said with a touch of incredulously as she and Killian were made to leave the apartment, the door shutting behind them. Once they were alone, Emma commented, “You know, there are worse ways to get kicked out of your own place.”

Killian smiled before offering his arm to her. “Shall we?”

Emma smiled back and took his arm. “Let’s.”

The two of them then headed to the Fish & Chips, and even if Killian was able to feel the cold again, he likely would have ignored it in favor of looking at Emma.

Emma, on the other hand, still seemed to shiver.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere else?” Killian asked her concernedly.

“I’m sure.” Emma replied. “Besides, I’ve wanted to come to this place for a while.”

“Only if you’re sure.” Killian told her.

Emma reached over to touch Killian’s hand, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Relax.” Emma told him. “I’m fine.”

Killian squeezed her hand back. “Good.”

Emma leaned into his personal space with a coy smile. “So should we have the fish & chips, or the fish & chips?”

"It's so hard to choose." Killian played along, his own grin growing. “However will I decide?”

Emma bit her lip in a tantalizing way. “That’s what you have me for.”

"Oh, really?" Killian asked, his eyebrow arching upwards. “And what exactly will you do?”

Emma paused before saying with a meaningful look, “If you’re good, you might just find out.”

Killian reminded himself to breathe as he said, “Then I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior.”

At this point, the waiter came over, so they were forced to let go of each other’s hands to look at their menus. Once they ordered and the waiter left, they continued their chat.

“So, what’s it like having them live with you?” Emma asked him.

“It’s...interesting to say the least.” Killian answered.

“How so?” Emma asked curiously as she crossed her arms and rested them on the table.

Killian thought about it before saying, “I’ve been looking a new place to stay. The apartment was fine when it was just me, and even when I added Lady, but it’s not going to be enough for the four of us.”

Emma shrugged. “It’s an adjustment, but you’ll get the hang of it.”

“What about you?” Killian asked.

Emma looked surprised. “What about me?”

Killian took in a breath. “Well, I don’t suppose that Regina was aware of Henry’s escape.”

“She never is.” Emma replied stiffly.

Killian raised a hand in peace. Ever since he had gotten Phoebe and Mai, he knew that he would only have the state to argue with for custody of them. Emma and Henry on the other hand...

“Listen,” Killian started, “I’m all for doing what you want if it makes Regina’s life a little harder, but sooner or later...I just have a feeling that this might not end well for you. You’re Henry’s mother, but Regina has legal custody. She’s been oddly quiet lately, but I doubt that’s going to last forever.”

Emma looked down at the table, her brows pinched and her shoulders stiff. Emma sighed. “Well, it’s not like it’d be the first time she’s tried to stop me from seeing Henry. I haven’t exactly forgotten the time she tried to frame me.”

“There was that.” Killian admitted.

Looking a little more confident now, Emma looked him in the eyes and said, “I don’t care what Regina does. She’s not going to scare or keep me away from my kid.”

Killian had no doubts about that.

Emma then uncrossed her arms and said, “Alright, enough about my weird custody dispute with Regina. What about you? How’re things going with your job?”

Killian sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “Well…”

“Uh oh.” Emma said.

Killian scratched the back of his neck. “Remember when I told you about Gold raising the rent awhile back?” When Emma nodded, he continued, “Well, lately money hasn’t exactly been flowing into the library. Now with the girls and Lady, I’m not sure how we’re going to make it without charging for the tutoring sessions. I don’t want to, but I’m going to need to think of something fast. I might have to find something of value I can trade to Gold, but the thing is I don’t know what I have that the old man would find valuable.”

Emma grimaced in sympathy. "Seriously, what is this guy's problem?"

“I honestly couldn’t tell you.” Killian said with a touch of disbelief in his voice. “No one seems to know much about the man other than that he somehow gained control of the town.”

Emma added, “From what I remember, he doesn’t seem to like you that much.”

Killian shook his head. “I swear I’ve done everything I can to avoid the man, if for nothing else than to maintain my own sanity and sense of fairness in the world. Whatever I did to him, I don’t remember what it is, and he hasn’t exactly been forthcoming.” Killian then gave a little aggravated sigh. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Hey.” Emma said softly as she once again reached over to touch his hand. “You’ll figure something out. And if not, you’ve got me.”

Killian felt like it was a little easier to breathe now. “I do, don’t I?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, you do.”

That’s when their food came over, and it wasn’t long after they started eating that conversation picked up again.

“What about you?” Killian asked. “How are thing at work?”

Emma answered, “Nothing much has been going on.” Emma then suddenly smiled to herself.

“What is it?” Killian asked with a curious smile of his own.

“It’s nothing.” She lied.

“Emma.” Killian drew out her name, letting her know that he was onto her.

Emma looked around to see if anyone was listening before she said, this time in a quieter voice, “Graham and Nancy are going on a date tomorrow.”

Immediately, Killian started smiling. “Really? That’s great. Wait, why didn’t he tell me?”

“He wanted to keep it mostly private.” Emma replied.

“So how do you know about it?” Killian asked.

Emma scoffed. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m practically a lie detector. The second Graham tried to play off his double-checking every restaurant we passed as ‘due diligence’, I was onto him.”

Killian chuckled a little, but most of all he was glad. He knew that Graham felt a great deal for Nancy, and try as he might to downplay it, he was crushed when they broke it off. He didn’t know what started it up again, but he was glad that it did.  

"That's good for him." Killian said. "Everyone needs someone in their life." As he looked down at his plate, he was hit with a memory of Liam cooking dinner one night after having worked all day.

Emma must've seen something in his expression. “What is it?” She asked softly.

“Oh, nothing.” Killian said quietly as he met her eyes. He then softly cleared his throat before saying, “I was just thinking of this one time Liam came home after he’d been working all day. He was exhausted and practically had to dragged himself into our home, but the first thing he asks me is if I had anything to eat. I hadn’t, so Liam whips up something to eat.” Killian scoffed then. “He wouldn’t let me leave the table until I’d finished everything. Then, I ended up doing the dishes while he was on the couch. He promised to help me with this...project I was working on, but by the time I’ve finished, he’s fast asleep. Didn’t bother to wake him after that.”

“Sounds like he really cared about you.” Emma said, her voice a touch distant.

Killian swallowed thickly. "He did.”

Emma looked downwards. “You’re lucky you had someone to look out for you.”

Killian looked at her. After some hesitation, he asked, “What about you? Did you ever...have someone like that?”

Emma bitterly scoffed. “No. I mean, sometimes someone would be nice at first, but it never lasted for long.” Emma then looked up at Killian, and something in his expression made her force a smile on her face, “Hey, I’m fine. Upside is that I at least learned how to make my own food by the time I was eight, at least when I had money for ingredients.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Killian said.

“Do what?” Emma asked, trying to focus on her food in an attempt to act nonchalant.

“Pretend like it doesn’t bother you.” Killian told her. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”

He watched Emma's eyes widen with surprise as if the thought had never occurred to her.

Hesitantly, Emma added in an offhand tone, “I just don’t want bring down the mood.”

Killian gave her a look. “Swan, no offense, but I just shared a memory about my dead brother. If that didn’t bring down the mood, I don’t know what will.”

Emma didn’t seem to know how to rebut that. Instead, she took in a calming breath before saying, “Alright it sucked. As in...it _really_ sucked, but it made me who I am.”

Killian reached across the table and took her hand. “Aye, it did. It made you an incredible, strong woman, who is compassionate and amazing.” He told her with absolute sincerity.

Emma held onto his hand, and looked at him with astonishment before her face softened. He expected her to make a sarcastic remark, something to downplay the situation, but instead Killian was nearly taken off guard when she said, “And you’re...a good guy with a big heart. It’s not everyday someone takes in a couple kids just because.”

Killian oh so badly wanted to bask in that compliment, but he had to say, “I think your boss may have beaten me there.”

In answer, Emma squeezed his hand and smirked a little. “He’s not the one I’m on a date with. You are. Now...how about we finish our food before it gets cold, and then we go somewhere for privacy.”

Killian gave her an enticed smile. “Say no more.”

As they ate, a few jokes were made, laughs and smiles shared, and Killian had never felt lighter. He and Emma were talking, truly talking, and getting to know each other better than before. He was especially heartened by the fact that Emma had opened up to him like that. Killian felt like he could breathe easier.

Eventually, they paid for their meal, but still ended up seated at their table for some time before they decided to get up and leave. Emma took his hand, and together the two of them took a long walk in the opposite direction of the loft. When Emma shivered a little at the cold air, Killian released her hand, and wrapped an arm around her to pull her close. In return, Emma wrapped an arm around his waist, and it made his stomach clench with anticipation.

“Hey, look.” Emma said as she nodded at a nearby alley. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s there, and…” Emma took a look around the street. “There doesn’t seem to be anyone around.”

Killian took a look around as well, and found that Emma was right. “Yes, so why-”

Killian stopped himself when Emma pulled away, only to once again grab his hand and pull him into the alley. With a confused smile as Emma pushed him against a wall, Killian began to ask, “Swan, what are you-”

Killian was soon interrupted by Emma pressing her lips against his. His eyes closed of their accord, and he pulled Emma closer as they kissed.

Now this was certainly something that he loved to do. The feel of her lips moved against in, trying to take in what little breaths he could so he wouldn’t have to pull back, so that he could prolong the experience.

And yet something felt different this time. Emma was holding him closer than usual, and when one of her hands went to the back of his head, her fingers threading themselves in his hair and held on firmly, he felt his heart beat faster. He felt himself becoming more excited, and he distantly realized that the kisses were becoming deeper.

Something else was waking up down south as well, and he was really hoping that no one would notice.

When the two of them finally broke apart, Killian took the moment to breathe while Emma began to turn her attention, and her kisses, to his neck.

His eyes rolled back as she sucked at a particularly sensitive spot. His mind went blank for a second, before he remembered where they were and what they were doing.

“Emma.” Killian said in a rough voice, though Emma didn’t seem to have heard him. She continued her kisses, and Killian nearly lost himself to them again before regaining his senses. Killian brought his hands up to shoulders, and then gently pushed her away a bit as he said, “Emma, Emma, we are in an alley.”

Emma looked disappointed by his words, and he couldn’t help but notice something.

“You know,” Killian said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you pout before.”

“What?” Emma scoffed unconvincingly. “I didn’t pout.”

“Ah, yes you did.” Killian told her teasingly, bringing a hand up to cup her face, his thumb tracing over her bottom lip. “But there is a time and a place for everything.”

Emma sighed in mild disappointment, though she seemed somewhat distracted by his thumb on her lip. “Let’s just hope that finding that time and place doesn’t take too long.”

Excited by the notion, Killian leaned forward to kiss him, though deliberately broke it off before it could become too heated again.

Emma pouted again and it was one of the most adorable things that Killian had ever seen.

Killian gave her one final kiss before reluctantly pulling his hand away. He looked up at the dark sky, and as he looked back down at Emma he asked. “I hate to ask this, but what time is it?

Emma reached into her pocket and pulling out her phone. After seeing the time there, she sighed. “I think it’s pretty late. I think it’s time we get the kids home.”

“Indeed.” Killian affirmed, and the two of them once again held hands as they left the alley, and walked towards the loft. There were intermittent kisses throughout the walk, though none that lasted too long or proved _too_ distracting.

“So, barring anything else popping up, you want to do this again next weekend?” Killian asked her.

Emma kissed him again before asking, “That work as an answer?”

Killian smirked at her. “Cheeky.”

The two of them entered the building, and soon they were at the door of the loft. Emma unlocked the door with her keys, and the two of them entered the loft.

They barely took five steps into the loft before they saw Phoebe, Henry, and Mai chasing Lady around the loft, and the dog was curiously wearing what looked like wings made of construction paper, held together by a string wrapped around the dog’s body.

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret was calling out to them, telling them to be careful, and that’s when Killian noticed that a number of vases and other breakable items had been placed on the kitchen counter, and furniture had been moved back. The kids had wide smiles on their faces as they tried to grab Lady. The puppy was doing an admirable job at evading them.

“Slay the dragon!” Henry cried out as Mai rode on his back.

“Go steeb!” Mai cried out.

Henry stopped and told her, “It’s noble _steed_. We talked about this.” As Mai gave a mumbled apology, that’s when Henry noticed Emma and Killian at the door. “Oh cool, you’re back.” Henry said with a smile.

“Yay!” Mai nearly shouted as she slid down Henry’s back, her stance waving once her feet hit the floor, though Henry helped steady her. It was as she ran towards Killian that he saw sleepy she was. Mai hugged his leg and said, “Hi Killian.”

Killian smiled down at her. “Hi Mai.”

When she looked up at him and held up her arms, a clear signal that she wanted him to pick her up, he immediately obliged her. Picking her up and then securing her to him, Mai wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Did you behave for Mary Margaret?” He asked him.

“Mhmm.” She hummed as she nodded against his shoulder.

“How was your date?” Phoebe asked as she once again tried to catch Lady, but pouted when she failed. Instead, Lady spotted Killian and immediately came up to him.

“We had fun.” Emma answered, and Phoebe nodded, her eyes evaluating both of them curiously.  

“It was fine.” Killian said before he addressed Mary Margaret. “Thank you for looking after them.”

“It was no problem.” Mary Margaret told him as she bent down to free Lady of her wings. “They all behaved very well.”

“Henry has a storybook.” Mai mumbled, apparently losing energy with every second.

“And was Henry nice about sharing?” Emma asked the boy with a significant look.

Henry looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. “Yes, I was.” He told her. “It helps when someone _wants_ me to read it.”

“Did you enjoy the stories?” Killian asked Mai as he grabbed Lady’s collar.

“Yes.” Mai said as Phoebe came over and grabbed the collar, and then with Henry’s help wrangled the puppy into it. “Mulan’s in there.”

“I see.” Killian said, casting a brief glance at Emma, and seeing a warm and soft expression on her face as she watched them.

“There’s a pirate there too.” Mai added. “Like you.”

Remembering Mai’s repeated insistence that Killian’s Halloween costume was that of a pirate, he simply nodded, even as his mind momentarily became distant, and he imagined the waves-

Killian cleared his throat and his mind. Once he saw that Phoebe and Henry had gotten the leash on Henry, he went over to the coat rack and handed Phoebe her coat. He then grabbed Mai’s coat and said, “I’m going to have to put you down. Just for a moment.”

Mai responded by shaking her head and holding on tighter.

“Mai.” Killian sighed.

“It’s okay.” Phoebe said, and she took Mai’s coat. “Arms.”

Without a word, Mai released one arm from Killian’s neck, and held it out so that Phoebe could put it through a sleeve. Phoebe called for the other arm and did the same thing. Once Phoebe had adjusted the coat, Mai’s arms went back to his neck.

“There, problem solved.” Phoebe said as she zipped up her coat, now taking the leash from Henry.

“Again, thank you for looking after them.” Killian told Mary Margaret, who simply nodded with a smile. He then turned to Henry to say goodnight, and turned to Emma to say the same thing.

She responded by leaning forward to give him a quick kick on the lips.

“Gross.” Henry groused before he muttered a quiet “Ow!”

Killian had pulled away from the kiss just in time to see Phoebe retracting her elbow from Henry’s ribs.

“Be nice.” He warned as he opened the door with his hand. “Say goodnight, girls.”

“Goodnight.” The girls chorused as they exited the loft, and Killian closed the door behind them, thankful that he had secured Mai to him with his left arm.  

As they began walking back to their home, Phoebe asked in a teasing voice, “So... _was_ there a kiss?”

Mai immediately started as she sleepily asked, “Huh, kiss?”

Killian shook his head. Oh yes, life with them was bound to be interesting.

* * *

  _January 22, 2012_

“Did you remember everything?” Declan asked Graham as they drove to Granny’s. Graham was incredibly grateful that Ruby had been able to look after Declan today, as no one else had been available. “Did you remember your wallet?”

“Yes, I remembered my wallet.” Graham said amusedly. “You remember to behave for Ruby.”

“I will.” Declan said as he held his egg on his lap. “Just as long as you behave with Nancy.”

Graham did his very best to hide his embarrassment as he pulled into a parking space. “We really need to talk about what you know.”

“I probably know more than I want to.” Declan said as he undid his seatbelt, and without another word got out of the car. Graham followed suit, and after locking his car, the two of them entered Granny's.

There, he saw Nancy sitting at the counter with Fernando. She was wearing dark jeans and boots, with a navy blue coat keeping her warm. Her dark brown hair was down, and some of it was held in the back by miniscule hair clip, keeping her hair out of her face. Ruby spotted him first, and when Nancy turned to look at him, he saw that she was wearing a light creamy pink blouse.

Graham swallowed a nervous lump in his throat.

He was only brought back to the world when Fernando waved at Declan, “Hi Dec!”

“Hi Hobbit.” Declan said as he walked over to them, ruffling Fernando’s hair before the boy swatted his hands away. “Hi Nancy, hi Ruby. As you can see, I have brought the police.”

“I can see that.” Nancy noted as she stood up and looked at Ruby. “Again, thank you so much for looking after him.”

“No problem.” Ruby said before motioning for Nancy and Graham to leave. “Now go, have fun, get crazy.” She added that last bit with a wink.

Graham chuckled a little nervously as Nancy kissed Fernando on the forehead, whispered to him, and them grabbed Graham’s hand and led him out of the diner.  

Graham then led her to his car, and only released her hand so that he could open the passenger door. “Milady.” He joked.

Nancy rolled her eyes with a smile as she got into the car, with Graham closing the door. Once both of them were buckled in, Graham began driving them to Tapenade Bistro, which further from what they considered acceptable walking distance.

“How has your day been?” Graham asked her.

“It’s been fine.” Nancy told him. “Fernando seemed excited at the prospect of hanging out with Declan.”

“Truth be told, I think Declan likes him too.” Graham told her.

“Really?” Nancy asked curiously.

“Oh yes.” Graham affirmed as he turned a corner. “Believe it or not, I’m quite certain that ‘Hobbit’ is a term of endearment from Declan.”

“I’ll try and take your word for it.” Nancy snarked before spotting something in the distance. “Ooh, there it is.”

Graham, realizing that she was right, kept driving until he could pull into a parking spot closer to the restaurant. Once his keys were out of the ignition, the two of them got out of the car, and after locking it the two of them walked into the bistro together. They were seated relatively quickly.

“How’s your new job working out?” Graham asked.

“Well, it doesn’t pay as much as my old job did.” Nancy confessed. “Then again, by the end my old job didn’t pay very much. Other than that, the hours are good, and Mrs. Lucas is firm but fair. Ruby’s great to work with, so overall I like my job.”

Graham smiled at her. “I’m glad that things are working out for you.”

Nancy spotted his hand on the table, and she reached over and grabbed it. “That’s not the only thing that’s working out.” She told him confidently.

Graham, having felt a surge go through his body, squeezed her hand back. “I’m really happy about this.” He confessed softly.

“Me too.” Nancy said before reluctantly releasing his hand. “Come on, let’s figure out what we want before the waiter comes over. Something I realized after becoming a server is that there are certain things about customers that cannot be forgiven, like taking forever to choose what you want while I stand there awkwardly.”

“Alright.” Graham chuckled in sympathy before turning his attention to his menu. He’d never been here before, and he was glad he got to try it out with Nancy. They made their choices quickly, and by the time the waiter came over, Nancy ordered a Florentine Turkey & Bacon while he ordered the Tapenade Wrap. Once the server took their menus, they were once again (relatively) alone.  

“So how has the adjustment been?” Nancy asked him. “Going from living alone to fatherhood?”

Graham thought about it for a moment. “It’s...been a work in progress. I’ve moved things around in order to make more room, but sometimes I wonder if I should find a bigger place to live. The kid is growing everyday. I’ve also implemented a swear jar, but Declan’s having a tough time keeping to it. Then he shows attitude for when I have to take money from him, which leads to awkward silence.” Graham paused thoughtfully before adding, “Still, Declan helps out around the house. He’s been behaving more, and he’s...less angry than he was. That’s not to say that it’s all gone away, but he seems...calmer.”

"That's good, right?" Nancy inquired further.

“It is.” Graham said, though he still felt uncertainty rise up within him. “The thing is though, I’m not entirely sure of what I’m doing. I mean, I’m trying to keep things as calm, provide some stability, but then there are times when he just absolutely aggravates me. Sometimes he’ll just deliberately end up swearing out of spite, or he’ll try to ignore me.” Then, Graham sighed. “But then other times he’ll get all silent, and start retreating into himself, and I just want to help him. I overthink every step I’ve just taken, worrying about what I could’ve done better. I just...I just want him to feel safe.”

 _To feel loved,_ Graham added in his mind.

Nancy looked at him for a moment before saying, “I’ve got some news for you. That’s what being a parent is like. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stayed up late at night wondering if I handled one of Fernando’s tantrums right, if I used too much or too little discipline.”

“Fernando?” Graham questioned incredulously. “Tantrums?”

“Hate to break it to you, but beneath that sweet face lies a demon.” Nancy deadpan but a small smile broke out on her face. “No, I’m just kidding. He’s not a demon, but he definitely has his moments of bad behavior. He’s just a kid though, and he doesn’t know any betters.” She then pointed between herself and Graham. “That’s why it’s up to the parent to teach them better, and from my experience, it works best if you just explain it to them.”

Graham replied, “I want to do right by him, especially in light of the fact of, well, what his parents did to him.”

Nancy’s brow furrowed, as it did whenever Declan’s parents were mentioned. “I guarantee you that you are infinitely more capable of doing right by him than _those_ people.”

“I hope so.” Graham said in an uncertain tone.

“I believe in you.” Nancy said assuredly.

Graham smiled in slight embarrassment as their food finally came along. It was, in a word, delicious.

So far, the date was going smoothly, and Graham was grateful of that. He hoped that it led to many more dates in his and Nancy's future.

* * *

“So this is the house of the Wicked Witch of the East?" Declan whistled impressed, his plastic egg held faithfully in one hand.

Henry rolled his eyes at him. “She's not the Wicked Witch.” He told him as he closed the front door and locked it.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Declan covered Fernando's ears. “I meant Wicked Bitch.” He whispered to them.

LJ shook his head before asking, “Quick question, why’d you bring him?”

“Not a snitch!” Fernando announced.

Henry and LJ looked at the boy before silently looking at Declan with deadpan looks.

“Hey, I was barely able to get past Ruby and Granny.” Declan defended. “I couldn’t leave a witness behind to snitch.”

“Well okay then.” Henry said, suppressing the urge to smack his own forehead. He had mixed feelings about seeing Fernando again. On one hand, it hurt to see someone he once considered his best friend as just a toddler. On the other, he had kind of missed him since Nancy quit.

His mom said she was fired, but as far as Henry was concerned, he was just glad Nancy got away alive.

“So Graham’s on a date right?” LJ asked before nodding at Fernando. “With his mom?”

“Yep.” Declan answered. “Speaking of which, how was your uncle’s date with Ruby?”

“Well he was smiling when they got home, so I think it went well.” LJ replied.

Declan covered Fernando’s ears again before asking, “You think they had sex?”

“Dude!” LJ protested, looking like he was ready to cover his own ears. “I do _not_ want to think about that.”

“Bout what?” Fernando asked, and Henry feared over just what he had heard. Frankly, he kind of wished he was in Fernando’s oblivious position.

Henry said, “I think I liked it better when you swore all the time, so can we move on please?”

Declan nodded as he took his hands away from Fernando’s ears. “So where's her evil magical lair?” Declan asked.

“Not here.” Henry answered as they walked up the stairs, watching Declan help Fernando walk up the stairs. “Believe me, I’ve checked.”

“You check anywhere else?” LJ asked.

“Yeah, but none of the places I’ve checked lead anywhere.” Henry told them. “The library, the diner, the school, or anywhere near my house.”

“Well, wouldn’t it make sense for an evil lair to be somewhere where it wouldn’t be obvious to find it?” LJ proposed.

“Okay, yes, but that still leaves a lot of places to look at.” Henry said as they finally made it to the top of the stairs. “This town is a lot bigger than you think.”

“It’s probably underground.” Declan added nonchalantly as they went into Henry’s room. “Isn’t that where all evil lairs are?”

“Hmm…” Henry hummed. “It’d need to be somewhere out of the way, like LJ said.”

“I just made this worse.” Declan mumbled to himself, though Henry paid that no mind.

LJ elbowed Declan in the ribs, “We can figure out the location of the evil lair later. Who knows how long it’ll be before your mom comes back.”

Henry replied, “I told you. She’s out at a meeting all day today. At least, that’s what she said.”

Fernando wondered around his room, and picked up a random comic book that had fallen. “I found it.” He told the group.

Declan went over and took the comic book from Fernando. “Wolverine vs. The Hulk.” Declan read.

“It’s good.” Henry said as he joined them.

“Can you read it to me?” Fernando asked.

“Maybe later.” Henry said. “What do you guys want to do?”

“Got any games here?” LJ asked. “You know, we really should plan these things better.”

“I think so.” Henry said as he looked around his room, and found a Connect Four. He then set it up on the floor, and the four of them gathered around it. He and LJ began playing while Declan began reading “Wolverine vs. The Hulk” to Fernando, with the little boy listening in rapt attention...at least until he tried to play Connect Four too.

“Easy kid.” Declan told him. “Wait your turn.”

“Maybe it’s better he play.” LJ told him. “That comic’s pretty violent, right?”

"You have a point." Henry said, and reached over to stop Fernando from putting a chip in his mouth.

“No Fernando.” Declan said as he set the comic book aside. “We only eat chips if they’re covered in salt.”

“Kay.” Fernando said in a non committal manner, and sat down to watch the game.

From the looks of it, LJ was winning. “Also, I think I was brought here with the promise of some cookies.” He said with a meaningful look aimed Henry’s way.

Henry focused heavily on the game as he said, “I’ll get some after this round.”

“Want me to get it?” Declan asked. “I can bring it up.”

“It’s fine.” LJ said as he placed a strategic chip in a slot.

“Oh, I’m dead.” Henry said in disbelief. He tried to put in a chip that might save him, but unfortunately…

LJ placed a final chip in play and said with his arms raised up, “Yes, yes you are.” He said with a smirk.

“This game is rigged!” Henry ‘protested’ as he ‘angrily’ threw a chip down.

Fernando mimicked this by grabbing a chip and throwing it against the ground with a laugh.  

Seizing on the moment, LJ grabbed a bunch of chips and threw it in the air like confetti. “Yeah I won!”

“Yeah!” Declan concurred as he threw up chips as well, laughing even as he tried to shield Fernando from the falling chips, one of which hit him right on the forehead.

“Okay, okay, let’s get some cookies.” Henry said as he stood up.

“Finally.” LJ said with a grin as he stood up as well.

Declan picked up Fernando, and carried him down the stairs as Henry and LJ raced ahead. Once they got to the kitchen, Henry pulled the cookies out.

“Hey Fernando, you allergic to anything?” Declan asked the kid.

Fernando shrugged.

“Oh.” LJ said in an uncertain tone. “What if he’s allergic to something?”

“Right.” Henry said in a disappointed tone. It would be too mean to eat it in front of him, and too risky to let him eat something without knowing if it would make him sick.

LJ paused before asking, “We can eat cookies some other time, right?”

Declan and Henry agreed, and the cookies were put away.

“Come on.” Henry said as they began to walk out of the kitchen. “I think there are more games in my-”

“Henry Daniel Mills.” His mom’s voice said in a stern cold voice.

Henry looked and to his shock his mother was standing right in front of them.

 _I’m in trouble,_ Henry thought worriedly.

“Oh, shit.” Declan muttered behind Henry. Henry saw LJ flinch in the corner of his eye. He thought he heard Fernando whisper, “It’s the mean lady,” but he couldn’t be certain.

His mom looked at his friends with an unimpressed look. “I see.” She said unamusedly. “So this is what happens when you’re home alone? You invite strange boys into my home without permission.”

“Hi, Mayor Mills.” LJ greeted, trying to be polite, but clearly aware that his presence here already meant he was toeing the line. “We just wanted to see Henry.”

His mom wasn’t appeased. "I was not speaking to you, young man."

When Henry turned his head to look at his friend, he found that LJ had shut his mouth and looked down in embarrassment.

Declan, with a look of righteous anger, retorted, “Hey, he was just trying to be nice.”

“Declan.” LJ warned softly, but it was too late.

Looking back at his mother, Henry saw that her gaze had focused in on Declan, and he didn’t like the way she was looking at him. Still, that didn’t stop her from trying to sound like she was acting nice. “You’re Declan Holtzer, am I right?”

Declan wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

That didn’t deter Henry’s mom as she walked around Henry to look at Declan, only briefly breaking her gaze to glance at Fernando, who was trying to hide behind Declan’s leg.

“From what I hear, you’re Graham’s foster child.” His mother said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

 _She knows?_ , Henry thought worriedly. _Of course she knows. Why is she bringing it up now though?_

“So what if I am?” Declan challenged.

His mom’s smile faltered, but she managed to keep it on her face. “Henry.” She said.

“Yes, Mom?” Henry asked, hoping that this would go as smoothly as possible.

“I think it’s time for you to go to your room.” She told him before looking at LJ, this time without a smile. “You can go. Mr. Holtzer and I will have a conversation about rudeness in my home.”

Alarms went off in Henry’s head, and he tried to calmly protest, “Mom, I don’t think that’s a good-”

“Henry.” His mother said sharply, turning her gaze towards him. “We _will_ talk about a suitable punishment later, but I’m willing to overlook some things if you listen to me _now_. Do I make myself clear?”

Henry looked at the faces of his friends, and he saw apprehension there. After a moment, Declan silently nodded for them that it was okay, though by his expression he clearly wasn’t. Henry was about to stubbornly protest when Declan gently nudged him, another sign for him to leave, and whispered to LJ to go as well. Declan also encouraged Fernando to take LJ’s hand, which the little boy did.

Henry and LJ very reluctantly left, Henry going up the stair, and LJ and Fernando went out the front door.

“Shut the door.” His mom told LJ, who with one last look reluctantly did.

His mom looked up and said, “Stay in your room until I call for you. I mean it.”

By her tone of voice, Henry knew that something bad might happen if he didn’t.

Henry looked at Declan, who gave another affirmative nod before staring defiantly at Henry’s mom.

Then, Henry shut the door. About half a minute later, he heard the sounds of things breaking. Then there was the slam of a door.

Henry’s hand was on the doorknob, and he was ready to wrench that open when uncertainty filled him. He knew his mom meant it when she said there would be consequences for him leaving his room.

 _When has that stopped you before?,_ a part of Henry asked.

 _What happens if it’s not just you she punishes?,_ another part countered.

Frozen with fear and uncertainty, Henry went over his options. On one hand, he knew that if he left, his mom would make him or someone he cared about pay somehow. On the other hand, what if Declan was hurt?

 _What do I do? What do I do?,_ Henry repeated the frantic mantra in his mind, distantly hearing repeated pounding on a door.

Not a minute later, he felt the knob move under his hand. With a start Henry realized that someone was opening the door. Henry barely had time to sit down on his bed like he’d been there all along when the door opened, revealing his mother standing there.

Henry heard the sounds of someone pounding on a door.

“What is that?” Henry asked warily as his mom closed the door to his bedroom behind her.

“It’s nothing.” His mom told him calmly as she went to sit on the bed with him.

“Where’s Declan?” Henry asked her.

“Your friend did something bad.” His mom told him. “I don’t want you going downstairs.”

“Why not?” Henry demanded.

“Because he was destroying things downstairs.” His mom told him in an affected voice.

“He wouldn’t do that.” Henry protested.

“He did.” His mom said. “Frankly, I don’t see why you’re surprised. The boy came from a broken home with violent parents.” His mom then gently held his chin between her fingers, and Henry remembered when it used to be a loving gesture. “It’s alright. I won’t let him hurt you.” His mom then let go of his chin, brushing her fingers against his cheek before saying, “Now, keep being a good boy and stay here. That’s an order.”

Henry found himself frozen in place as his mom got up and opened the door to his room.

Before she left though, she turned to him with a smile and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of anything.”

Without another word, his mom closed the door behind him, and Henry didn’t move.

* * *

With Graham on his date, Emma was manning the station, and she was bored out of her mind. She was staring up at the ceiling when she heard the door to the station open. Who could that be?  

Killian appeared with a smile and a bag of food, Mai and Phoebe right behind him, with Phoebe holding Lady’s leash. "Hello there, Swan."

"Hello to you too." Emma smiled, standing up.

He walked up to her and pecked her cheek before handing over the food.

It was grilled cheese and onion rings. Her favorite meal. "My hero." Emma said with a smirk. She set the food down on her desk, her stomach rumbling a little.

"I figured that you could use some food since you're manning the deck all by your lonesome." Killian told her with a smile, his blue eyes softening.

"Thanks." Emma said. She looked over at the girls, who were standing awkwardly in the doorway. "You guys can come in. It's not a problem."

Mai bounced over to her and hugged her leg. "Hi."

Emma chuckled. "Hi there."

Phoebe, however, remained quiet and carefully avoided eye contact with Emma.

 _O-kay…_ , Emma thought, wondering what was up with the teenager..

"So how has it been today?" Killian asked Emma.

"Slow." Emma replied. "Very, mind numbingly slow."

Killian laughed softly at that.

"Where are the bad guys?" Mai asked, walking over to the empty cells.

“Because we haven’t had to arrest anyone.” Emma told her.

“Oh.” Mai said, and then paused before asking, “Can I go in there?”

“No.” Emma drew out as Killian shook his head amusedly. “Not unless you did something bad.”

“Did you do something bad?” Killian asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

Mai paused a little too long before saying, “I don’t know.”

Emma and Killian shared an amused look. "What about you? According to Mai, you are a pirate, and pirates do bad things."

"I assure you, Swan, that if I am a pirate, I am a gentleman pirate." Killian told her.

Emma, feeling a little bold, leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Just how much of a gentleman are we talking?”

Leaning back, Killian swallowed before letting out an, “Uh…”

Emma smirked at his reaction.

Before anyone could say more, someone rushed into the bullpen. Turning her head, Emma saw who it was.

“Ruby?” Emma asked, immediately noticing the fearful look on the woman’s face. “What happened?”

“Fernando and Declan.” Ruby rushed out, and began hurrying her words. “I was watching them, and things were fine but then so many people came. I swear I was only out for a second. They were just sitting in the break room, and-”

“Ruby, take a breath.” Emma said as she approached the frantic waitress.

Ruby did as she was told, a guilt-ridden look on her face combined with watery eyes. “I had to handle some customers, and when I went back they weren’t there. No one saw them leave. Oh my god, I don’t know where they are.”

 _Oh shit, they’re gone?,_ Emma asked herself before remembering to calm Ruby down. “Relax, it’s going to be fine. This is a small town. They couldn’t have gotten far.”

Emma thought over where they could be for a moment. “Okay, assuming that they’re still together, Declan probably would’ve gone somewhere familiar. Since Graham is out with Nancy, then he might’ve just gone to Henry or LJ’s house. Let me just-”

“We need help!” Someone shouted, and before long LJ ran into the bullpen with Fernando in his arms.

“Oh thank god.” Ruby sighed in relief as she looked at the little boy. However, that relief soon dissipated. “Wait, where’s Declan?”

“Henry’s house.” LJ said as he gasped for breath, allowing Ruby to take an upset looking Fernando. “We all met up at his house to hang out, and then his mom came and made us leave.”

“Then where’s Declan?” Emma asked him insistently.

LJ, in an irritated yet fearful voice, corrected, “No, just me and Fernando. Henry’s mom made Declan stay in the house. I was waiting outside with Fernando, but then I heard glass smashing. I tried to get back in, but the door was locked. Declan never came out.”

 _Oh god, what has she done now?,_ Emma thought as her stomach dropped. "Okay, Ruby, take the kids to the diner."

Ruby nodded, holding onto Fernando tighter.

Emma grabbed her coat, and as she put it on she turned to Killian. "Do you mind giving me back up?"

“Of course.” Killian said before turning to the girls. “Girls, go with Ruby. We’ll be back soon.”

As Phoebe nodded, Mai asked, “Are you gonna catch a bad guy?”

“I don’t know.” Emma said before making herself smile. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”

“You better get going then.” Phoebe said, looking at Emma for the first time since she entered the station.

Emma nodded, and soon all of them left the station. Ruby guided the kids to the diner, and Emma and Killian got into her car. Emma quickly put the keys in the ignition as she hurriedly put on her seatbelt, and once the engine came to life, she drove the car out of the station’s parking lot.

On the way, Killian said, “I didn’t want to say this in there, but I’m wondering just what the hell Regina is doing.”

“Same here.” Emma replied. “She wouldn’t hurt him though, right?”

She and Killian shared an uncertain look, and that made Emma drive faster.

 _Regina’s manipulative and emotionally cruel, but she wouldn’t actually hurt a kid, would she?_ , Emma asked herself.

Again, she was uncertain about the answer, and she probably broke a speeding law or two in her haste to get to Regina’s house.

Eventually, they made it to the house, and Emma hurriedly put the car in park. The key was pulled out of the ignition, and the two of them raced out of the car. Emma stumbled with the keys as she locked the car, and by the time that was done Killian was already banging on the front door of the house.

Emma caught up to him by the time Regina answered, though she intentionally kept the door only somewhat ajar, and used her body to block their view of the house.

“What do you want?” Regina asked them.

"Where is Declan Holtzer?" Emma demanded, her tone serious and even, and she was glad that she was able to reign in how hostile she wanted to become.

“You mean that criminal in the making?” Regina asked. “I haven’t seen him.”

The sounds of someone pounding against a door from inside the house seemed to contradict Regina.

“Get out of my way.” Emma said, pushing past Regina to gain entry into the house. She noticed glass and pieces of a broken vase on the floor, and a table was also overturned. On a small table nearby a closet door was Declan’s plastic egg. “Declan!”

Then, Emma heard something. A muffled “Help!” permeated the air, and despite how quiet it was, Emma knew it was him.

And it was coming from the closet.

Emma went over and tried to unlock the closet door, but she found that it was locked. She looked, and saw that the closet had a lock on the outside, and after undoing the lock, Emma opened the door wide.

There Declan was on the floor, his arms around his knees as he rocked back and forth, his cheeks stained with tears.

“Declan.” Emma said softly as she kneeled in front of him.

“You haven’t seen him, have you?” Killian shot back angrily.

Regina retorted, “He enters my own without permission, and when I try to talk to him, he starts throwing a tantrum and starts breaking everything in sight.”

“What was locking him in a closet for?” Emma angrily asked.

“I didn’t want him to hurt Henry or myself.” Regina fired back. “Besides, I thought that Graham would prefer it if I talked directly with him about the boy’s behavior. Unless you want me to ruin the boy’s future by pressing charges.

Emma glared at her before looking at Declan. “Declan, is that what happened?” Emma asked.

Declan didn’t answer.

“Declan, come on.” Emma said extending a hand out. “Let’s get you back to Graham.”

Declan looked up at her before quietly asking, “Egg?”

“It’s right here.” Killian said as he picked up Declan’s egg from the table, and then handed it to the boy.

Declan clutched it fiercely before taking Emma’s hand, and allowing her to help him stand up.

Emma looked at Regina, and to her anger she found that for all her talk about not wanting to ruin Declan’s future, Regina didn’t look the least bit sorry about what she did.

It reminded her of all the times one of her foster siblings did something and blamed Emma for it. No, it reminded her of all the times one of her foster _parents_ did something and blamed Emma for it. And that pissed her off to no end.

Still, she was able to hold it together enough to say, “Killian, take Declan outside.”

“You sure?” Killian asked, though he seemed to know what she was asking.

“Yeah.” Emma said, not taking her eyes off of Regina. “She and I need to talk.”

Killian didn’t look like he wanted to leave them alone, but he still agreed. With a dark glare Regina’s way, Killian led an oddly quiet Declan out of the house.

Emma looked at Regina, and said in a dark tone, “What the hell did you just do?”

* * *

"Excuse you?" Regina snapped incredulously. "You cannot come into my house and speak to me like this."

“You just locked a kid into a closet until he was reduced to tears.” Emma retorted in that annoyingly self-righteous way of hers. “I think that gives me license to say that you’ve finally gone too far.”

Regina scoffed, barely restraining herself from rolling her eyes. “The boy destroyed my property. He’s a criminal, and yet here you are acting like I’m the one who shattered glass everywhere.”

True, the boy didn’t _actually_ break anything. Regina had broken the glass, but that was only because the boy refused to apologize. He actually swore at her, accused her of making Henry unhappy. He even compared her to his lowlife, good-for-nothing parents.

He said that to _her_ of all people. Who was the one that stayed up with Henry when he cried every night? Who has been the one raising him everyday for the last ten years?

Who was he to judge? An orphan whose own parents didn’t love him, who somehow tricked Graham into taking him into his home.

Just thinking about how Graham had snuck around to climb into bed with her former maid was bad enough, but after learning from Sidney that he and that lawyer had managed to hide his fostering of the child, Regina was wroth. Whether or not Graham had regained his heart, he still utterly rejected her. She was a queen in their past life, and the most powerful women in this one, and yet he still chose gutter trash over her.

She’d only done this to scare some sense into the child, but maybe she should press charges. It might finally wake everyone up into realizing this good for nothing child wasn’t worth the effort. Perhaps Graham would do the smart thing and send him into foster care and over the town line.

That way, he wouldn’t get to poison Henry against her anymore.  

She already had this annoying blonde in front of her to deal with. She didn’t need to deal with a pint-sized delinquent.

Emma glared at her. “So when I ask Declan about this later, he’s not going to give me any contradictory details?”

“He’s a compulsive liar.” Regina told her, figuring that the boy was probably the reason her son was acting out more and more. It wouldn’t surprise her. She’d told Henry the truth about the boy coming from a broken home, that it meant nothing but trouble for Henry. “How long did he lie to everyone that he was living with his parents? How much else has he hidden from you in order to make himself look better?”

“He’s a kid.” Emma argued. “You’re supposed to be the adult, and you didn’t try to call us. You just locked him in a closet.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that it was for our protection?” Regina asked incredulously. “Does the broken glass not clue you in?”

Emma still didn’t look convinced.

Regina crossed her arms. “Not that you’d understand. Henry’s concern has never been your top priority.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Emma asked defensively.

 _Good, she’s on the defensive_ , Regina thought. _Now to keep her there._

“Don’t think I don’t know about Henry sneaking out to see you.” Regina said, and suppressed a smile when she saw the tiniest wince in Emma’s features. “Oh yes. The first time, I let it go because you, the mother who gave him up, are a curiosity to him. And yet you kept doing it over and over again, so I made sure to have someone take photos as proof. That’s how I also I know that Ms. Blanchard’s helped you while you were too busy doing god knows what with Mr. Jones.”

Regina had always hoped that the man she sent to assault Jones would have taken him out permanently. Since she didn’t get a chance to take out Graham, she could’ve hoped that Jones would no longer be an issue. As it stood, he and Miss Swan were free to make eyes at each other, to Regina’s consternation.

Emma opened her mouth to say something, but Regina wasn’t about to break the momentum she’d built up.

“You’re lucky I haven’t tried to have Graham arrest you.” Regina told her.

“For what?” Emma asked.

“Custodial interference would be the least of it.” Regina told her, allowing herself a small smirk. “If I could bump it up to kidnapping, I would. In fact, I might just include Ms. Blanchard in that charge since she’s your accomplice. However, for now I’ll just stick to exercising my rights as Henry’s _real_ parent.” Then, straightening her back, Regina said, “Miss Swan, I am forbidding you from contacting Henry indefinitely.”

“What?” Emma asked incredulously. “You can’t do that.”

“Oh yes I can.” Regina said with a little laugh. “Given your utter disregard for my son’s safety, and for your repeated flaunting of my parental rights, this is the least I can do. You are not allowed to see or speak with Henry.” Regina then stepped into Emma’s space, and said, “If you do, I will tack on a restraining order along with pressing charges. Am I clear?”

Emma said nothing, defiantly glaring at her.

“I said, am I clear?” Regina asked, knowing she had gotten Emma down to pat.

Emma stared at her with a quiet rage before saying, “Crystal.”

“Good.” Regina said with a satisfied smile. “Now, get out of my house.”

Emma looked up the stairs, in the direction of Henry’s room, with a wanting look. And yet when she looked at her, Regina knew that she couldn’t fight this. Emma said nothing as she left the house, slamming the door behind her.

Regina allowed a wider smile to appear on her face. She had done it. She had finally gotten one up on Emma. If only she could’ve found a way to get her out of their lives permanently.

Even if she couldn’t do that now, she wasn’t about to let those photos go to waste.

She hadn’t forgotten about Snow White’s persona of a simpleton school teacher. She still had those photos Sidney had taken of Henry at the loft with the woman when he was supposed to be home. Ever since Kathryn told her that David had finally decided to leave her for good, going to that damn lawyer for help, Regina knew that she was no longer satisfied with keeping them apart with the curse’s help. They seemed to be drifting closer.

The photos were just the start. Regina would observe, and she would plant the seeds needed to get rid of her worst enemy for good. Once that would down, she would proceed to rid herself of all of her enemies, or as well as those who proved more trouble than they were worth.

After Snow White was finally dead or gone, the next ones of the proverbial chopping block would be Emma, Nancy, and Declan.

Regina looked around at the broken glass and sighed. She really should find a new maid, preferably before she killed her last one.

* * *

Mary Margaret was beginning to wonder if her most...interesting interactions were destined to happen at the store. First it was Kathryn and her suspicions about Mary Margaret and David, then it was Declan and his hunger, and now it’s Kathryn...again.

Only this time, Kathryn had a friend who was looking at Mary Margaret with no small amount of disdain.

All she had wanted was to get some ingredients for a new recipe she wanted to show Emma, and she ended up bumping into Kathryn and her friend. This led to their current awkward situation.

“Hello Kathryn.” Mary Margaret told her. Meanwhile, she was telling herself, _Yes, David and Kathryn are divorcing, but you haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t need to feel awkward._

Easier said than done.

“Hello Mary Margaret.” Kathryn replied, clearly ready for this conversation to be over with.

Kathryn's friend, who had been pretending to focus on some nearby vegetables, coughed something that sounded like “home-wrecker”.

Mary Margaret studiously ignored her. “So, how have you been?”

Kathryn hardly got the chance to open her mouth when her friend spoke up.

“Really?” Her friend asked incredulously. “You’re the reason her marriage is ending, and you want to know how she’s doing?”

_Be calm, Mary Margaret. Remember to stay calm._

“Becky.” Kathryn hissed under her breath. “I told you, it’s fine.”

"It's not fine. She’s completely turned your life upside down by taking away your husband." Becky told Kathryn. She then looked at Mary Margaret. “This slut should be ashamed to show her face in public."

“Excuse me?” Mary Margaret asked incredulously, just as Kathryn said her friend’s name in an aghast tone.

Kathryn told Mary Margaret, “I am so sorry. Becky, we’re leaving.”

Becky didn’t look the least bit apologetic, and began to say, “But-”

“ _Now._ ” Kathryn said firmly, leaving no room for argument. She then guided Becky out of the store, and Mary Margaret was left standing there in embarrassment.

Mary Margaret felt her eyes water. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She and David had been so careful to be only be seen together when they were with friends. They had tried to restrict how many times they could be seen alone. Mary Margaret had kept him at arm’s length to avoid the very thing Kathryn’s friend had just accused her of.

Mary Margaret tried turning her attention to her errands, sniffling a bit in order to gain control of herself. No need to ruin her whole day because of one nasty woman.

 _But what if she’s just one of many?_ , a treacherous voice in her mind asked. _What if this is what everyone secretly thinks?_

 _Shut up please,_ Mary Margaret replied in her mind.

“Oh, sorry.” Mary Margaret said as she nearly bumped into someone. She then recognized the person she just bumped into. “Oh, Mrs. Mueller, hello.”

“Hello, Ms. Blanchard.” Mrs. Mueller said magnanimously. She then had a concerned look on her face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Mary Margaret tried to assure her.

Mrs. Mueller raised an eyebrow.

“It’s nothing.” Mary Margaret said, not ready to let one of her school’s boards members in on her private life. “Have a good day.”

“You too.” Mrs. Mueller said as Mary Margaret walked past her.

Mary Margaret cleared her throat, and began to focus on her shopping. She still had that meal she wanted to share with Emma, and she wasn’t going to let this stop her.

She just hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with this again.

* * *

Mrs. Mueller. Oh what an absolutely benign sounding name for someone like Cora. She had just looked Snow White straight in the eye, and there wasn’t a hint of recognition there.

The curse and her own disguise were the reason, but Cora enjoyed the fact that she was inches away from Eva’s daughter, inches away from being able to rip the life out of her, and the woman didn’t even know it.

She had been following Snow White, and she had heard about her little disagreement with the two women from before.

It was true. Public opinion was fairly split between those that believed that nothing happened with Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan, and those who believed that they’d started bedding each other since the man awoke from his coma.

It made no difference to Cora. They were destined to reunite if and when the curse broke, and this little passion play would ultimately mean nothing.

After having to buy her own groceries, Cora left the premises, and entered her car. On her drive home, she ended up at a stop sign that was in view of the Sheriff’s Station. Looking over, she found the Savior guide the Sheriff’s young ward into the station, but remained outside herself. Soon, the pirate exited the Savior’s car, and from the looks of it, the Savior was upset about something.

Then, to Cora’s annoyance, the pirate kissed the Savior on the cheek and held her close.

 _So the two are indeed lovers._ Cora thought to herself. She still needed to figure out something to drive a wedge in between them, but what? She didn’t necessarily want to risk waiting until the risk was broken to divide them, but what in this life could help?

Unless of course Hook decided to save her the trouble and leave the Savior of his accord. With his black heart and tendency to lean towards lust, Cora didn’t entirely believe that he would bother staying with her. The two young wards he had taken on had been a surprise, but Hook was on a revenge mission. Cora wouldn’t bet on him giving up on his centuries long quest for two young girls.

Still, she didn’t wish to rely too much on his past weaknesses to counteract his current ones.

Hmm, if he did still hold affection for the girls once the curse was broken, perhaps she could simply put them in a cage, and have him at her beck and call to keep them safe.

That would at least spare her the risk of going to Rumplestiltskin directly. He was too much of a wild card when it came to his reported rage against Hook. Cora was more than certain he was awake now, and that in little ways, he had been trying to harm Hook in this life. The raised rent was just a tiny portion of the kind of damage Rumplestiltskin can do.

So no, doing something directly at this stage was too risky. But perhaps...perhaps something indirectly might help.

Cora drove off, and began to plan more.

* * *

“She did what?!”

Killian winced as he heard Graham’s shout through the speaker. In turn, Declan also winced in his seat next to Killian.

“I’ll explain more when you get here.” Emma told him as calmly as she could. “The important thing to know is that she isn’t pressing charges.”

 _But she is denying Emma access to Henry_ , Killian thought angrily. Emma had been fuming about it the entire car ride over, but she hadn’t said anything because she hadn’t wanted to upset Declan further. She was still distracted, and only had the presence of mind to call Graham once they’d gotten to the station.

“Okay, see you soon.” Emma said before she hung up the phone. She then walked over to Declan and said, “Don’t worry. Graham’s gonna be here real soon.”

Declan silently nodded, which worried Killian greatly. The boy hadn’t been this quiet since he was starving to death.

Emma shared a concerned look with Killian before addressing Declan once more. “Declan, can you tell me what happened?” Emma asked.

Declan looked away from her.

Emma paused before saying, You know, I had foster parents that used to do things to me. One of the things that they did was lock me in my room for hours, even when I wanted to go to the bathroom. One time, I was locked in my room for an entire day, and...you can imagine how well that went."

 _What?,_ Killian thought aghast, wanting to find whoever did this to Emma and drag them over the coals for what they did to Emma. Then he’d just let them lick wounds in a locked room.

At this point, Declan had looked back at her, a bit less guarded now.

Emma, seeing that she’d gotten Declan to listen to her more, asked, “So, am I right in thinking that being in the closet was something like that for you?”

Declan held onto his egg tighter. He looked conflicted about what to say, and looked hesitant at both Emma and Killian. After several moments passed in silent, Declan shrugged. “It’s nothing.” He lied. “I just don’t like dark spaces. Well, dark spaces and noise.”

Emma and Killian remained silent, waiting to see if Declan would add more.

He didn’t disappoint. “I, uh…” Declan cleared his throat. “Look, my parents sometimes just...put me in a box.” Declan’s voice became quieter as his eyes drifted to the floor. “Sometimes, they’d make Gavin and Oscar help. One time, someone dragged me to the backyard, and someone started banging on it, and…” Declan sighed irritably. “When’s Graham getting here?”

Killian briefly turned away to rub his forehead in stress as Emma told him that Graham would be there soon.

Emma then got up to move to her desk.

“Sit tight.” Killian told Declan, who simply nodded. He then stood up and walked over to Emma.

Emma looked at him and said, “You should probably go look after the girls.” Then, she remembered something. “Shit, I’ve got to call Ruby to let her know we got Declan.” Emma then did so, and Killian could hear Ruby give an audible sigh of relief before Emma hung up.

Emma looked at him again. “I’ve got this.” She tried to tell him, though she couldn’t quite hide how stressed out she was.

“I meant what I said before.” Killian told her. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”

Still, Emma tried to hide the pained look on her face. She pursed her lips before let out a quiet, aggravated sigh. “What the hell am I going to do?” She asked him quietly. “Regina won’t let me see him, and I didn’t sense that she was lying about the photos.”

Killian bit back a sigh of his own. Apparently, Regina had gotten her hands on photos of Henry with Emma and Mary Margaret. They were innocent enough on their own, but if Regina decided that Emma had pushed too many legal boundaries.

Emma paused before quietly saying, “You were right before. You were completely right.”

Killian looked at her confusedly.

“Yesterday, you reminded me that Regina had legal custody of Henry,” Emma clarified, trying to remain calm though mindful to keep her voice down. “You warned me that I had to be careful, and I didn’t listen.”

"Oh, Swan." Killian wanted to pull her into his arms, and give her all of the comfort she deserved.

“No, it’s-” Emma stopped herself. She again tried to hide the vulnerable look on her face, but she didn’t quite succeed. “I don’t know what to do.” She finally said in a worried tone. “I don’t know how to convince Regina to reconsider, and I don’t want to risk losing Henry.”

“It’s going to be alright.” Killian told her. When Emma looked uncertain, he added, “Regina’s playing a game with you by using Henry. I can’t guarantee that it’ll be resolved quickly, but I do know that she’s never been able to stop you before.” Killian placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You and the boy will be together again. I believe in you.”

Emma didn’t say anything, but she gave him a long, curious look before curiosity became affection. She then took a step closer and put her arms around his middle, pulling him closer and hugging him.

Killian, although surprised by this show of affection, was quick to comply. He returned the hug as he whispered in her ear, “It’s going to be okay.”

He felt Emma’s arms hold him tighter, and he also felt her tuck her face into his neck.

Killian reminded himself to breathe as he felt her skin against his, and he softly, gently rubbed her back.

“Declan!” A voice called out, startling Killian and Emma enough to look towards the source.

Killian found that it was Graham, who upon seeing Declan, immediately went to the boy.

Graham went to his knees in front of Declan, his hands hovering over his shoulders. “Declan, are you alright?”

“Graham.” Declan said quietly.

“I’m so sorry.” Graham told him. “I promise, she will touch you again.”

Declan looked like he wanted to say something, but soon his lips quivered and his face scrunched up. In a quick movement, Declan leaned forward and hugged Graham.

“It’s okay.” Graham told the boy as he hugged him back, and Killian couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard Declan crying. “It’s going to be alright, I promise.”

Declan pulled back a bit, still keeping one hand on Graham's shoulder, as his other hand was busy wiping a constant wave of tears from his face. “Can we go home now?” He asked in a wobbly voice.

“Yeah, we can go home.” Graham said as he stood up, wrapping an arm around the teary eyed boy’s shoulders. He looked at Emma and asked, “I’m sorry to ask, but can you-”

Emma interrupted him with a raised hand. “Take all the time you need.” Emma told him, her eyes sympathetic and her voice forcibly kept even.

Graham nodded thankfully, and he gently guided Declan, who was still clutching his egg like a lifeline, out of the station.

Killian watched on, and before he could think about it, he said, “Regina’s going to pay for this.”

Emma scoffed. “How? She's the mayor and has her hands in everything. She could easily spin it to be Declan's fault, and ruin his life by labeling him as a bad kid.”

“So then we’re just going to have to find something to counteract that.” Killian told her.

Emma raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” She asked with a bit of wariness but also curiosity.

“Come now, Swan.” Killian said. “You and I both know that Regina doesn’t play by the book, especially when it’s easier or simply more fun to break the rules. If she’s had someone who’s been following you, collecting ‘evidence’, then we can do the same. Maybe something that’s enough to get her to let you see Henry, and back off Declan.”

“But if either of us are caught following her, she’ll definitely retaliate.” Emma argued.

“This coming from the woman who sawed off a branch of her apple tree?” Killian pointed out.

“I don’t think something like that will work a second time.” Emma replied.

“We can at least keep an eye out.” Killian told her. Sensing Emma’s hesitation, Killian added, “Or, _I_ can keep an eye out. Then, if Regina does somehow catch me, you can claim ignorance.”

“She knows we’re dating.” Emma replied.

“Who’s to say that I’m doing this for your sake?” Killian hypothesized. “To anyone who might be curious, I’ll just be concerned about one of my pseudo-students. Due diligence and all that.”

Emma looked torn. “I don't want you to risk yourself like that. Regina won't care what happens to you, but I do. Besides, what if she goes after your girls?”

 _My girls_ , Killian thought. _They are mine now, I suppose_. He had only very recently fostered them, and if he was no longer allowed to keep them with him, they would go into foster care. And yet…

“I worry about them.” Killian told her. “And I worry about someone taking them away, which is why I can’t do nothing while Regina keeps your son from you.”

Killian then cupped her face with his hand and said, “We’ll figure this out.”

Emma looked at him for a moment before quietly replying, “I hope so.”

* * *

“Must we go through your crisis of conscience every time you come here?” Gold asked the young fairy boredly, after she attempted to quit for the third or fourth time now. “Honestly, I’ve extended more professional courtesy towards you lot than I normally would.”

“Only because you really want to know what Killian’s doing.” The young fairy shot back. “Again, I don’t know why. He’s really nice.”

Gold felt himself glower, and only felt a miniscule amount of satisfaction when the fairy flinched. “I really don’t know how to make myself clearer.” He told her in an even voice. “If you don’t like our arrangement, then by all means quit. Then, I’ll have no choice but to decide that Mr. Jones is unfit to remain your guardian.”

The young fairy began to protest, but Gold spoke over her.

"All I have to do is report him.” Gold told her cold voice. “After all, three people in a cramped, one room apartment? Not to mention how he seems to leave you with babysitters more often than not. Doesn't seem ready to be a father, does he? Least of all to a difficult, manipulative, thieving teenager, who could easily get a criminal record with a phone call."

The girl swallowed a lump in her throat, and she was making a visible effort trying to appear as if Gold’s words hadn’t affected her. Oh dear, the little thing might actually cry.

Can’t have that.

“Now, I don’t much care for your opinions.” Gold told her in what he believed was a congenial tone. “Only for what you can offer. Now, tell me what you’ve seen.”

Reluctantly, the young fairy crossed her arms and said, “Apparently, Regina won’t let Emma see Henry anymore.”

“That much I’m aware of.” Gold said, already bored with this news.

The young fairy actually looked at him with an unimpressed look. “But you don’t know why she did it.” She told him. After he gave him a prompting look, she continued, “LJ told me that Regina kicked him and Fernando out of the house, but made Declan stay inside. Then I heard that Regina locked Declan in a closet, but she says it’s because he broke all of her stuff.”

“And this interests me why?” Gold asked in an unaffected tone, though deep down he was interested as to why Regina would do something so brazen.

“Because it’s bullshit.” She told her. “Declan’s a lot of things, but he wouldn’t just randomly break all of her stuff.” She then sighed in sympathy. “After Killian picked Mai and me up, he had to see Emma again. I overheard them talking about how Regina wasn’t letting her see Emma because of this.”

After the young fairy paused, Gold asked, “What else?”

“That’s it.” The young fairy shrugged. “That’s all I heard. So are you going to shave off the nuns’ debt or what?”

“Yes, yes.” Gold said with an impatient wave of his hand. “A deal’s a deal. Leave now.”

The young fairy didn’t hesitate, and quickly left to return to her little hovel with the pirate and the other little fairy.

Except...the little one wasn’t quite a fairy, was she? Gold remembered the when he had seen her in their past lives. The first was in one of his visions, which had unfortunately left him due to the nature of this land, though he hoped to get it back once the curse was broken. The second was a mere glimpse, just a quick look at the thing before her fairy ‘brethren’ whisked her away.

He wondered if they knew what she truly was.

Regardless, that was neither here nor there. The information his spy had gotten him was interesting to say the least.

From the looks of it, Regina had finally become impatient and decided to strike out against Emma in the most dramatic way possible. He wasn’t sure how the wayward orphan factored in, but knowing Regina, he doubted that the boy was of consequence.

Then again, when he looked at someone, he simply saw a deal.

When Regina looked at someone, she saw a potential enemy or a plaything. Neither was mutual exclusive.

However, if Regina was striking against people now, that made Gold want to hurry on with his plans.

Heading further into the back of his shop, he painfully kneeled down to loosen up one of the floorboards, seeing that his little potion was still there.

He hadn’t gotten all of the necessary materials needed, but he did know where to start looking. Regina had to have brought over some magic from their realm. She would’ve been stupid not to, and, more to the point, her lust for it was almost compounded by her desire to torment Snow White.

He could always send his young spy out to collect these materials, but he could already tell she was wavering in her task.

No, as always, it was best to perform an undertaking like this on his own.

* * *

Henry knew he had been sitting at the top of the stairs for a while. His mom had given him permission to leave his room some time ago, after she had cleaned up all of the glass. He just couldn’t find it in him to join her downstairs, especially after she told him about the new ‘rules’.

 _That woman is no longer allowed to have contact with you,_ his mom had told him about Emma. _She doesn’t care about your safety. Furthermore, you are not allowed to talk to that boy ever again, do you understand me?_

Henry had become angry at that. She couldn’t do this. It was bad enough she wasn’t letting him see Emma, but now she wasn’t going to let him talk to Declan? It wasn’t like she could stop him from talking to Declan at school.

 _Does Declan even want to talk to you anymore?,_ a dark part of his mind asked.

Henry deflated further. He hadn’t left his room, but he did open his door enough to peek on Emma and his mom arguing. He had been in time to see Killian lead Declan out of the house.

Henry would never forget the lost look on Declan’s face as he was guided out. Declan didn't’ even look that way when he was in the hospital. Just what had his mom done to him.

 _It’s your fault,_ that same dark part of his mind told him. _You were the one that told your friends that everything would be fine. You’re the reason Mom was so mad at everyone._

“My fault.” Henry said quietly, sniffling when he felt like he was about to cry.

 _Don’t cry,_ he berated himself. _You can’t make Mom madder than she already is._

If he wasn’t careful, his mom might stop him from seeing LJ, Ava, Nick, or Paige.

 _Your real mom would never do this,_ another part of Henry’s mind said. _Emma would never keep you from your friends._

That was true. More than anything, Henry wished that he could just...live with Emma. Sometimes he felt bad about thinking like that. After all, his adopted mom had raised him since he was a baby. He knew that she thought she loved him, but sometimes he wondered if she actually did. Sometimes he would think that he was wrong and that she really did, but then she’d do something like this, and…

If he could live with Emma, he could hang out with Declan. He could have his friends over without worrying about getting them in trouble. He could call Emma ‘Mom’ and not worry that his other mom would get mad at them.

Henry sighed. He was stupid for thinking that his adopted mom wouldn’t find out about this.

“Henry!” His mom called out. “Dinner’s ready!”

Pausing for a few moments, Henry reluctantly got up and went down the stairs, ready to join his mom for dinner.

 _Maybe if I’m good,_ Henry thought, _maybe if I’m_ really _good, she won’t hurt anyone anymore._

* * *

“I can’t believe this.” A stunned David said in Ray’s office.

“Well believe it, because LJ’s been distraught all day.” Ray told the man, remembering how he had picked LJ up. He had been ready to scold him for sneaking out again, but seeing how upset LJ was about what happened had overrode him with concern.

“How is he doing?” Freddie, who had come with David, asked Ray.

“He’s in his room right now.” Ray said. He had made sure to check again once everyone was there.

“Jesus, why?” David asked aghast. “How, could Regina do that? She's a mother for crying out loud!"

“No one ever accused her of being a good one.” Killian said over the phone, as Ray had put his work phone on speaker. “Now that she’s claiming that Declan did it, she’s using that as leverage to keep Emma from Henry.”

“And that’s why you want us to help, right?” Freddie asked. “To find something to use against Regina.”

“I already said that none of you have to help.” Killian tried to tell them.

“And let you take on Regina alone?” Ray asked incredulously. “Please.”

"I can handle this." Killian assured them.

David added, “Hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure because you’re dating Emma, Regina will see you coming. Besides, if you didn’t really want our help, you wouldn’t have told us what you were planning in the first place.”

At this, Killian just sighed and said, “I mean this in the nicest way, but you and Freddie don’t have much stake in this, and I’d rather not be the reason why you ended up on Regina’s shit list.

“Given how she apparently reacted to Declan, I’m pretty sure it was bound to happen sooner or later.” Freddie told him. “You might as well let us help. Sorry for my language, but this shit is getting out of hand.”

Killian chuckled at that.

“So what’s the plan?” David asked as he ran a hand through his hair. “We just follow Regina until something happens?”

“We’re not stalking her.” Ray told him sternly. “And for the record, I will say right now that if anyone does anything illegal, I am ethically bound to report it. I get that she is a terrible person, but I’m not about to let any of you go to jail, or lose my license, to take her down.”

"To be fair, I doubt Regina does anything legal." Killian cut in.

Ray glared at the phone. "We're _not_ stooping to her level."

"So what can we do that's not illegal?" Freddie asked.

Ray looked at them all in reproach before gaining a thoughtful look. “Well, for one thing, simple observation isn’t illegal, primarily if it’s in public. If she does something on a sidewalk or in a restaurant, that’s fine. Anything you observe in plain sight is also fair game.”

“What’s ‘plain sight’?” David asked.

“Anything you witness her doing or any object she handles without opening a door, pulling a curtain, or opening a drawer counts as that.” Ray explained. “It’s usually something the police do. Say that you have a gun in the bed of your truck. If the officer sees that gun in plain sight, it counts. If you happened to cover it with a blanket, and the officer only found it after uncovering it, that evidence would be blocked.”

"So we could take pictures of her doing things, but act like we were just taking pictures around town?" Freddie asked uncertain, obviously wanting things cleared up. "I mean if we just watch her, it's our word against hers."

Ray became a little uncomfortable as he thought it over. “That’s a touch creepy to think about, but as long as you don’t take it of her inside her house or private office, it should be okay.” Ray didn’t exactly endorse spying on someone, but given what happened with Declan, he didn’t exactly like where this particular train was heading. “Okay, what do we know about Regina so far? She’s already likely threatened Declan into silence, given the fact that Graham said he didn’t get anything out him.”

“I’m fairly certain that Regina leaves Henry alone a lot.” Killian told them. “It’s happened a lot where he’ll stay at the library because no one will be home.”

Ray felt a little heartened by this. “Okay, okay, we can work with this.” He told the group. “If we can prove neglect, then we can build a stronger case.”

“How can we prove it though?” David asked. “If she keeps most of the neglect behind closed doors, then there's not really much to go on.”

“There's Henry.” Killian suggested. “He's seeing Archie, and it's clear that Henry's unhappy.”

“Henry's still just a kid." Ray said, already imagining how this would go if and when this went to court. "While his word might be taken, Regina could spin it. Plus, who knows if Henry will find it in him to testify against his adopted mother.” Ray thought about it further, and added, “Henry's history with Archie won't help either if Archie is in Regina's pocket.”

“What about, uh, what was her name…” Freddie trailed off, thinking for a bit before suddenly remembering something. “Nancy. The woman who used to work for her.”

Ray wasn’t entirely set on it. “Regina or her lawyer could say it’s just the word of an embittered employee.”

“But,” Freddie emphasized, “we’d have more people saying the same thing about Regina. If enough people are on board, she can’t say they’re all lies.”

“We can try.” Ray said before noticing the time on his clock. “It’s getting pretty late. We should pick this up tomorrow or another day. Remember what I said. Don’t do anything illegal, and try not to get caught.”

“Alright.” Killian said. “See you all tomorrow.” He then hung up the phone.

David and Freddie got up, and got ready to go.

“Let’s hope this works.” David said.

“Me too.” Ray said.

"You think we should include Graham?" Freddie asked them.

"He  _is_ the Sheriff." 

David pointed out.

“And he’s Declan foster father.” Ray said. “There might be a conflict of interest...let’s wait and see.”

Freddie nodded before adding, “I hope LJ feels better.”

“Thank you.” Ray replied, and soon David and Freddie left, leaving Ray alone in his office.

Ray sighed. Every part of his body was telling him that he was walking over some very thin ice. Regina could very well make their lives a living hell if they made the wrong mood. She could go to Judge Herman, who already hated Raymond, to get help with that.

Killian had the girls to worry about, and David had his divorce to worry about. Ray felt guilty that he didn’t know a lot about Freddie, but he also knew that Regina could make things highly uncomfortable for the man if she wanted to.

Still, Freddie was right. Things had gone too far. He had been under no illusion that Regina was a nice woman, and he certainly didn’t believe that she was above using underhanded tactics. It was all but an open secret. However, he believed LJ, and he knew that Declan was a tough kid, and something had to have happened to make him a nervous wreck.

Regina lorded over everyone because she felt like no one could touch her, and that hit a strong chord with Ray. His entire life, he’d detested people who did what they wanted regardless of who it hurt. It was worse when those abuses went unchecked.

In a way, Regina reminded him of his father and uncle, which angered him even more.

With that, Ray went to his file cabinet and opened a drawer. He pulled out an empty file and brought it to his desk, and thought over what to name it. He had thought about just putting Regina’s name on it, but something in him warned him against it. Maybe he was worried that somehow Regina would see it and try to destroy it, or use it as evidence against him somehow.

What might be a good way to describe this situation? How would he describe Regina?

Ray thought over the name when something came to him. It fit, and he was pretty sure that the word was in French, so it was as good as anything else he could think of. Ray picked up a pen, and wrote ‘Reine’ on the file’s tab.

He then put the filed in the cabinet and locked it.

It was done now. He was in this plot, and he knew that he wasn’t about to back out of it anytime soon. He just hoped that this wouldn’t bite them all in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Declan made up, but Regina’s banned Emma from Henry, traumatized Declan, and the guys are plotting to change that. So yeah, a lot went down in this chapter. 
> 
> We saw some good romantic strides, including Dada and Jefferson. Just to be clear, Jefferson is super conflicted about his feelings, and wants to proceed carefully. 
> 
> Let me know what you think below!
> 
> See you same time next week!


	21. Highs and Lows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, love is in the air, we learn who Freddie really is, people miss each other and strengthen connections, but danger lurks around.
> 
> Also, there’s some throwing up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Everything canon belongs to A&E, ABC, and their lord and master Disney.
> 
> Another Disclaimer: I am not an official medical person and do not claim to be. 
> 
> Special thanks as always to Can’t-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me with this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 10, 2012_

Watching her daughter bring the boy to school personally, Cora was struck with a profound sense of annoyance. Granted, she hadn’t cared that Regina had disciplined the boy known in this life as Declan Holtzer. Cora hadn’t recognized him, and she didn’t care to. It was well known that the child was unruly, argumentative, and a curiosity since the Sheriff had taken the child into his home.

However, Regina had gotten sloppy. Cora had learned the details of what happened in Regina’s home from the Sheriff. She had to remind herself not to accidentally crush the man’s heart in her hand, as she had nearly clenched her hand in frustration.

Regina could do what she want in her home, but this situation skirted too closely to potentially going against her. If it had helped break this damnably curse, then Cora wouldn’t have minded. As it stood, the curse was no less broken, and Regina had drawn undue attention to herself.

Regina had always been an impetuous child, believing that she was more clever than she was. She always thought she could keep secrets from Cora, and despite proving her wrong time and time again, Regina persisted in doing so. Even when Cora was banished to Wonderland and Regina became more of a queen, that much didn’t change.

Again, she didn’t care what happened to the child. She didn’t even mind that the Savior had been staying away, but this just grated on Cora’s senses. She had thought she raised Regina better than this, but there were simply some things she couldn’t change.

Cora took a breath, remembering to smile at the children, who believed her to be Mrs. Mueller, someone who worked at the school. She’d already had to use the Sheriff’s heart multiple times to convince him not to do something against her daughter, even if the man couldn’t remember it. The fact that she’d had to do this more than once was troublesome.

However annoyed Cora was by this act of recklessness, there was an upside to it. In one fell swoop, Regina had solidified a number of enemies against her in this life. Not least of all the Savior and the Sheriff, though with the latter, it would prove a touch awkward to handle their interactions once the curse was over. There was also Hook to contend with, as Cora had witnessed him glaring at Regina whenever the two had come into contact.

Still, Prince Charming, the lawyer on their side, and their allies were against Regina. When the time came for the curse to break, Regina would have fewer and fewer allies on her side if old resentments flared to the surface. Then, Regina would feel more enticed to join Cora’s side once more.

Cora entered the school, keeping a smile on her face, trying to pretend that this was all there was to her. Whatever complications Regina inadvertently threw her way, Cora would deal with them. If there was one thing Cora had learned in her life, it was how to turn others’ disadvantages to her advantage.

* * *

What the hell was she going to do? Emma hadn’t been able to see Henry in almost three weeks. Every day she was restricted to watching him from afar, to not being able to hold or talk to him made Emma anxious. Looking at the clock on the wall, even the time reminded Emma of Henry. Right now, she knew that he had just finished school.

 _I wonder what he learned about today,_ Emma suddenly thought. _Did he have trouble in math? Did he find something new he wanted to read?_

Even something as simple as that filled her with longing.

Right now, she was alone in the station. Graham had gone out to meet Nancy at the playground with Declan and Fernando. Graham had this guilty look on his face, as he knew that she was restricted from contacting Henry, but that was all the more reason to tell him to go. Even if it was for an hour, Emma covering for Graham and Ruby covering for Nancy, it was important that they spend time with their kids.

Emma sighed as she felt something hurt inside. “Keep it together.” Emma told herself, covering her eyes with her hand. This couldn’t last forever, right? She would be able to see Henry again.

“Did someone order lunch?” Killian’s voice startled her. Emma took her hand off her eyes, and saw Killian standing there with a lunch bag in his hand.

“Killian?” Emma asked. “What are you doing here? I thought the kids-”

“Dada’s covering for me.” Killian said as he approached her desk, giving her the lunch bag. “Grilled cheese and onion rings. Your favorite.”

Emma tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. “Thanks.”

Killian saw right through her. “Still thinking about Henry?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah.” She said quietly. It made her heart ache to think of him, isolated with no one but Regina for company. Especially after she would sometimes be able to watch him from afar, see him walk home alone with this sad look on his face. It made something inside her shrivel up to see her kid that sad, but no matter how much she wanted to go to him, she had to stay away.

“Hey.” Killian said quietly, and Emma tried not to flinch in surprise when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

She hadn’t realized under he’d touched her that she’d been getting more and more upset.

“Talk to me.” Killian said, his eyes sad for her.

Emma cleared her throat, trying to let him know that it was okay, but then Henry’s face popped into her mind. At first, she had been upset about being denied access to Henry, especially because she _knew_ that Regina’s claims about Declan were bullshit. She hadn’t anticipated just how much she would miss the kid.

Emma ended up closing her eyes and hiding her face behind her hand.

“Emma.” Killian said softly, and when she looked at him, hating how much vulnerability she was showing, she saw that he looked sad for her. “Regina won’t be able to keep Henry from you forever.”

Emma couldn’t stop herself from saying, “But what if, before I get to see him, he’s just completely shut himself off? What if he won’t want to see me anymore?”

“What?” Killian asked with soft incredulity. “That’s ridiculous. Henry loves you.”

“I’ve seen this happen before.” Emma told him. “There were kids that ended up in a foster home whose parents were fighting for custody, and they kept trying to convince them to hate the other parent to get custody. We both know Regina’s not above trying to make him think…” Emma trailed off, trying to focus more of her energy on suppressing the urge to cry.

_Get it together Emma._

“Henry’s a tough lad.” Killian said. “He’s survived Regina this long. Besides that, you’re a good mum.”

"But I'm not!" Emma cried, feeling a tear streak down her face, the last of her control beginning to wane, and guilt began to sink in. "I gave him up, because I was a stupid teenager that couldn’t take care of him. I gave him up, because I can’t a mother!"

“Yes, you can.” Killian protested.

Emma scoffed as she looked away from him.

“Emma, look at me.” Killian told her.

After several moments, Emma was able to look at him from the corner of her eye.

“Maybe you did give him up because you couldn’t take care of him, but that only means you did what you could to better his future.” Killian told seriously. “You stayed in town to make sure he wouldn’t fall back into the depression we both know he’s sliding back into, and that’s not on you. It’s on Regina for separating him from you, and for micromanaging his life.” Killian reached over and gripped her hand in his. “I admit, I’m new at this whole parenting thing, but from everything I’ve seen, you are doing your very best to help Henry, to make him happy. _That_ makes you a mum, and I’m not going to let you or anyone else forget that.”

Overwhelmed by the sincerity of his words and his faith in her, Emma sagged against him, burying her face into his shoulder, allowing her emotions to take control. A sob came out of her, and then another, and then more after that until her body was being wracked by sobs.

 _This is too much,_ Emma thought tiredly in her mind.

“Shh, I’m here.” Killian told her, his arms wrapped around her.

“I’m so tired.” Emma couldn’t help but say, even if it was in a quiet voice, as her throat was constricting too much to say a lot. Sometimes it just...was so damn tiring keeping it all together, keeping it all in. Usually she’d be alone when she’d had breakdowns like this, but if there was one person she could do this in front of it, it would be…

“Killian.” Emma said softly as she held onto him tighter.

“Tired you may be, maybe that’s why I’m here.” Killian said to her. “Maybe I’m here to help you share the load.”

The fact that he _wanted_ to share her burdens made her feel an intense surge of emotion. Emma sniffled, taking a breath to calm herself down, and she pulled back, covering her nose in case it was covered in snot. She saw tissues on her desk, so quickly grabbed one to clean her face. “Sorry.” Emma told him.

Killian smiled as he shook his head. “No need to apologize. I’m here for you.”

Emma, once again overcome with emotion, tossed the tissue in a nearby garbage pail before pulling Killian into a kiss.

Killian made a mild, muffled noise of surprise before giving himself into the kiss.

Emma took advantage of his surprise to deepen the kiss. Her hands, which had been gripping the lapels of his jacket, went to his neck. Killian’s shuddered a little under her hands, and when he opened his mouth, Emma took advantage.

Killian moaned a little, as did Emma.

She pressed her body into his completely feeling him against her, but she needed to stop, though she was loathed to do so. This wasn't the time or the place to really get into it.

Emma reluctantly pulled back, allowing herself a little smile when she saw Killian blindly follow after her lips.

Putting a finger on his lips, causing him to open his eyes, Emma said, “Maybe we should do that some other time. Like when I’m not at work and we’re not in the middle of the Sheriff’s Station.”

Killian pouted a little, which was pretty adorable.

“I suppose you’re right.” Killian said as he stood up. He seemed reluctant to leave.

Emma told him, “I’m better now. You should head back to work.”

“You sure?” He asked him.

Emma nodded.

“Alright.” Killian said. And then a thought occurred to him. “Perhaps...I promised to take the girls out to the park tomorrow. Do you want to join us?”

Emma smiled at his thoughtfulness. “I’d like that.”

Killian smiled at her. “Great.” He said. “If I don’t see you later, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you.” Emma said as Killian began to walk out.

“Enjoy your lunch.” Killian said, and then he was out the door.

Emma, looking at her previously forgotten lunch, suddenly felt a rumble in her stomach. She looked into the bag, and indeed found grilled cheese and onion rings. Emma felt a little better after looking at the food.

No need to let it go to waste.

* * *

From his seat on a bench, Graham watched Declan push Fernando on the swings. Declan held his egg in one hand while he pushed Fernando with the other one. Fernando was having the time of his life, but Declan still had a despondent look on his face.

Graham was almost wistful for the days where Declan was argumentative. When he swore too much and his temper flashed. There were still instances of that with Declan, except they came in unexpected bursts of anger that saw Declan quickly burnt out. It would end with Graham waking up in the middle of the night to find Declan trying to muffle his crying in his pillow. One time, he was crying because Henry apparently wouldn’t talk to him anymore, and Declan said it was because he was a bad kid.

Graham had been repeatedly assured by the doctor he took Declan to that there were no physical injuries. He believed the doctor, but that didn’t mean what happened didn’t have an effect on Declan. The boy hadn’t even protested when he took him to Archie, but Archie told him that all Declan had told was remain quiet the entire time.

Graham was sure that this entire thing had reopened old wounds, and Declan’s been shutting down ever since.

It felt like he was failing Declan.

“What’s in your head?” Nancy asked from her seat next to him.

Graham looked at her before returning her attention to the boys. “Declan still hasn’t told me everything that happened.” Graham said. “He’s said that Regina put him in the closet, but I know that he’s holding something back.”

“Have the sessions with Archie been helping?” Nancy asked with a worried look.

“I don’t know.” Graham said. “I just don’t know how to get through to him.”

Nancy bit her lip.

"I just wish I could help him." Graham sighed, before he felt a surge of anger. "Or even better, go back in time and stop Regina from ever going near him."

Nancy tried to lighten the mood. “Well, barring possession of a time machine, I’m not sure that’s feasible.”

“I’m serious, Nancy.” Graham said, trying to control his temper. “I care less and less that Regina is mayor. She can’t keep walking over all of us, especially a child, and just expect us to take it.”

“Hey I’m with you there.” Nancy told him. “In case you forgot, I quit because I couldn’t deal with that bitch anymore.”

Her language didn’t startle Graham nearly as much as the vehement anger in her tone.

Nancy, seemingly realized this, visibly calmed herself. “Sorry.” She apologized. “It’s just that sometimes everything that happened while I was working with her all comes back out of nowhere.”

Graham nodded in understanding. “I wish I could just, you know, finally catch Regina red-handed. Preferably something that would lock her away for a long time.”

“If only we could spy on her.” Nancy suggested half jokingly.

That...wasn’t a bad plan. Maybe not spying necessarily, but a stakeout. An investigation into suspected child abuse. Not just of Declan, but of Henry as well. He knew that Regina would leave Henry at home when going to their ‘council meetings,’ so maybe there were more incidents like that.

Why hadn’t he thought of this before? Well, he had certainly thought about it when he’d taken a crying Declan home. Even when Emma told him about what Regina threatened to do, he had wanted to. And yet...something had held him back. Every time he’d thought about doing it, for some strange reason it just went away, lost in the back of his mind. He tried to remember those times when he would push it aside, but he simply couldn’t. Something wasn’t right. Why could he remember it?

“You’ve got your thinking face on.” Nancy commented. Her tone sounded a bit worried if he wasn't mistaken.

Graham just shook his head. “It’s just a thought.”

“Mommy!” Fernando called out, and Graham saw that Declan was helping him out of the swing. “Can we play on the saw-see?”

“See-saw.” Declan corrected.

“Sure!” Nancy called back, and Roland raced to the see-saw, Declan following him. “We should probably get closer, just in case Declan gets tired of playing.”

“Alright.” Graham nodded, and the two of them joined the boys.

Crazy idea it might be, perhaps an investigation was in order. He had promised Declan that he would protect him, and he wasn’t going to break that promise. Regina was never going to touch Declan again, that was certain.

* * *

  _February 11, 2012_

Killian wanted to help Emma feel better. After their talk yesterday, where she revealed just how miserable she was without Henry, all of her insecurities about motherhood, he wanted to do something to relieve her. Killian had asked Graham to cover her shift for an hour, and the man had agreed.

Since it was Saturday, and Dada had agreed to cover for him for a while, it seemed like a good day to go to the park.

“Watch your step!” Killian called out to Mai, who was recklessly rushing ahead to the park.

“I’ve got her.” Phoebe said as she ran ahead, Lady keeping up as Phoebe had her leash in her hand.

Killian smiled at them as he looked at Emma, but she seemed to have a distant look in her eyes. She might’ve stopped walking altogether if they hadn’t been holding hands.

Killian and the group had been trying to find something concrete to pin on Regina, but it was taking more time than he would’ve hoped. That hadn’t dissuaded Killian though. He was determined to keep his promise to Emma.

“How are you today?” Killian asked gently.

“A little better.” Emma told him before returning her attention to the girls, who were tossing a ball for Lady to catch. “You find a place yet?”

Killian shook his head. “No such luck. I’m hopeful though.”

Emma gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you'll find something soon."

“Within a decent price and big enough to hold three people and a dog.” Killian signed wistfully.

Emma patted his shoulder in sympathy. “It’s always the simple things in life we hope for.”

“Emma!” Mai called out with the ball in hand, trying to evade Lady who was persistent in regaining it. “Want to play?”

Emma paused for a moment before nodding. “Sure, why not?” Emma then went forward, and was able to catch Mai in time, as the little girl had tripped over a root.

“Are you alright?” Killian asked as Emma helped keep Mai upright, grabbed the ball, and then tossed it away, thus distracting Lady.

“Yep!” Mai said, not the least bit concerned about tripping. She then turned around and hugged Emma’s leg. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Emma said as she patted the top of Mai’s head.

Mai then ran off to catch up to Lady, and before Phoebe followed her, Killian thought that he saw an almost wistful look on the teen’s face as she looked at Emma and Mai.

Killian and Emma continued to follow the girls and the dog. Emma still looked a little distant, but at least it had been off her mind for a moment. As much as he hoped for it, he knew this situation between her and Regina, with Henry in the middle, wasn’t going to end easily.

He felt guilt for thinking so, but he was glad that he didn’t have to deal with the same thing.

“Killian.” Emma’s voice said. “Earth to Killian.”

He realized that he hadn’t been listening to her. “Sorry, what’d you say?”

“I was asking you what you were thinking about.” Emma said.

Killian forced a smile. “It’s nothing.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t we have a whole thing where we agreed to not pretend like nothing’s happening?”

Well...she had a point. Killian still felt a little guilty as he admitted, “I was just thinking about Phoebe and Mai’s parents.”

“How come?” Emma asked curiously.

Killian answered, “Well, as far as I know Phoebe’s father isn’t in the picture. Same with Mai’s mother.”

“What about Mai’s dad?” Emma asked.

“As far as anyone knows, there isn’t one.” Killian told her. “Mother Superior told me that Phoebe found Mai wandering in the woods, calling out for her mother. As little as Mai was, she apparently didn’t even know what a man was.”

A pained look crossed Emma's face. “So there’s no dad around, huh?” Emma asked, though it seemed like she was talking more to herself. “If she was all alone like that, maybe that’s for the best.”

Killian didn’t miss how much Emma was trying to hold something back. So, he asked, “What’re you thinking?”

“Nothing.” Emma said automatically.

This time it was Killian’s turn to say, “Didn’t we agree to not pretend like nothing was happening?”

Emma let out a self-deprecating chuckle, knowing she’d been cornered. “Just uh...” Emma trailed off before clearing her throat. “I was just...thinking about Henry’s dad.”

Killian was a little surprised. Emma rarely talked about the man. The most he’d ever learned about him was from what Henry had told him. The lad was so excited to know something about his father, but at the same time it was tempered with a sort of...disappointment that the little he'd learned hadn't matched up with what he had expected, whatever that was. As such, all Killian truly knew of Henry's father was that he and Emma gone their separate ways before Emma could tell him she was pregnant.

And yet the way she spoke about him, with the subtle hints of regret and bitterness, he knew that wasn’t the end of that story.

“Things didn’t end well with him, did they?” Killian guessed. “Before you could tell him about Henry.”

Emma tensed up. “I was sixteen. I wasn’t ready to be a mom.” She said defensively. “Besides, in the end, he definitely was to ready to be a dad.”

“What exactly happened between you two?” Killian asked, though upon seeing Emma’s look, he quickly added, “Not that it’s any of my business.”

“It’s not.” Emma said harshly.

Killian tried not to flinch.

Emma winced in guilt. “Look.” Emma started. “That thing I had with Neal happened when I was young and stupid. He was an older guy who made me feel like I was special, like I mattered, but when it came down to it, he bailed.”

Something stuck out to Killian. “Older?” He questioned as he tried to remember the details of what he knew of Henry’s father. “I thought you said you two were the same age.”

Emma swallowed, realizing that she’d been caught in a lie. “Yeah, well I lied.” Emma said stiffly, unable to meet his eyes.

She was sixteen when she became pregnant with Henry. If this Neal was seventeen or, hell, even eighteen at the time, Killian didn’t think Emma would have been so hesitant about revealing that. How much older was this guy, and why had he been so interested in a 16-year-old?

Killian didn’t know how to ask that, or what else to ask, so he waited for Emma to speak again.

She didn’t disappoint. “I met Neal after I ran away from one of my foster homes. I was alone, he was alone. We actually met after I tried to steal a car...that he’d just stolen. We stuck together after that.”

He didn't want to push her, but his curiosity got the better of him. "And?" He kept his voice soft, hoping that she wouldn't shut him out.

Emma looked up at the sky for a moment as she tried to form her next words, a hint of shame on her face. “We, uh...we went off together.” Emma said as she looked back down on the ground. “We stayed at motels, went on the rode in that car. And whenever money got short, we stole stuff then hawked it to whoever would take it. It wasn’t easy, but it worked for us. Neal...he made it feel right, like Bonnie and Clyde without the horrible death at the end.”

Killian’s stomach clenched at her confession. She hadn’t said how much older Neal was, but regardless, this man had still led a vulnerable 16-year-old girl to committing crimes, and then left her pregnant. “Why did he leave?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Emma had a look on her face that showed just how much she was trying to hold it together. “Neal was getting worried about the cops catching up to us.” She said. “He made a plan to sell some watches so we could go to Tallahassee. Thing is, I told him I’d sell it, but when I got there, he cops were waiting.”

“Shit.” Killian swore, seeing where this was going.

“Yeah.” Emma said quietly. “He set me up. Even then, I was still in love with him, or thought I was. That’s why I didn’t say anything about him, and I pled guilty. The judge was lenient and gave me the minimum.” Emma then got a bitter laugh. “And then, while I’m sitting in jail, I find out that Neal left me two things. The car, and Henry.” Emma shook her head with a shaky smile before looking at him with a pained, vulnerable expression. “So now do you get why I couldn’t be a mom? Henry didn’t need a 16-year-old failed car thief with no home as a role model.”

His heart clenched in pain for her. No one deserves what she had been through. “I’m so sorry.” Killian told Emma. “I...I’m just so sorry.”

Emma tried to shrug her shoulders nonchalantly, but she couldn’t quite manage it. “It’s not your fault.” Emma said. “You know...I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this story until now.”

Never? Truly? The fact that she had never shared that with anyone until him made him feel as though she entrusted him with one of her most prized possessions.

Killian hesitantly put his arm around her.

Emma didn’t resist. In fact, she leaned into the hug, curling into his side.

"Thank you for sharing that." He told her gently. "You didn't have to, and I know it must've been incredibly hard for you to do so."

Emma held on tighter as she pleaded, “Please don’t tell Henry.”

Killian didn’t know what to make of that request, but he nodded nonetheless. The last thing Henry needed was to hear this from anyone but his mother. The last thing Emma needed was to feel like Killian went behind her back.

“Are you okay?” Phoebe asked as she suddenly appeared before them, looking worriedly at Emma.

Emma sniffed and turned away from Phoebe in order to wipe at her eyes.

Phoebe looked at Killian worriedly.

“Everything's all right." Killian said, hoping to allay her fears and prevent Emma from feeling self-conscious. "Please, go watch your sister."

“Watch me?” Mai asked, and they all startled when they realized she and Lady were behind them.

“How...?” Emma trailed off.

Mai just looked up at them curiously as Lady went to paw at Emma’s feet.

Emma laughed a little wetly. "Maybe it's time for a treat?" Emma suggested. "Chocolate cake?"

Mai gasped in delight. “Yay!”

Killian chuckled at the little girl’s excitement.

“I’m up for it.” Phoebe said with an eager smile.

Mai squealed a bit as she raced forward to grab at Killian’s hand. “Daddy, can we?” Mai asked Killian hopefully.

Killian froze at her words. _Daddy? Did she just call me ‘Daddy’?_ Turning around, he found Phoebe had frozen, silently pleading with him to take it easy on her. Looking at Emma, he saw that she too was surprised by Mai’s words.

 _I said that my new dad works at the library_ , Mai had told him. Phoebe clearly saw the signs. Why hadn’t he? Did the little girl truly think of him as her father?

“Daddy?” Mai asked, bringing Killian down to earth. She was looking up at him with curious eyes.

Unable to correct her, especially as she looked at him with those innocent brown eyes of her, Killian nodded. “Sure.” He said. “Let’s find someplace in town before Emma has to go to work.”

Mai bounced and hugged his leg. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Welcome.” Killian said softly.

Phoebe came around, Lady’s leash in hand, and she gave him such a grateful look. Mildly embarrassed, he just shook his head. It wasn’t a big deal.  

Phoebe then went to hook up Lady’s leash to her collar.

Killian turned to look at Emma, whose expression was a mixture of pride and softness. A smile was on Emma’s face, and something about her expression surprised him. He couldn’t be completely sure about it, but he didn’t think she’d ever looked at him admiration, _adoration_ even.

It made his heart skip a beat and his mouth go dry. He couldn’t quite stop staring at her. He was filled with the desire to do everything he could to have her look at him like that.

“Emma.” Mai said, bringing Killian’s attention back to the small child. She had stopped hugging his leg, and went over to grab one of Emma’s hands in both of hers. “You want chocolate cake too?”

“Sure, I love chocolate.” Emma said to the little girl before looking at Killian. “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

“I’d be remiss if you didn’t join us.” Killian said.

“Then can we get moving?” Phoebe asked, her eyes not meeting them, and Killian got the distinct feeling that she’d understood the looks between the two of them. “Emma has to go back to work soon right?”

Emma checked the time on her phone and hissed. “She’s got a point.”

Filled with a sense of urgency, Mai made sure to pull on Emma’s hand and, after grabbing Killian’s hand, his as well. “Let’s go, hurry.”

Emma looked at Killian with a small smirk. “I think they’re trying to tell us something.”

“No really?” Killian joked. “Alright Mai, stop pulling. It’s not nice.”

“Okay.” Mai said, releasing their hands and going over to Phoebe, who offered her own.

“Let’s go.” Phoebe urged with a smile, and soon the two girls and the dog began to run off.

“Stay in sight!” Killian called out to them, and he found himself quickly walking to catch up.

Emma began to do the same. “Remind me to never get between them and a chocolate cake.” She told him amusedly.

Killian nodded with a chuckle. He was still processing everything that Emma told him. However, he was glad that she told him. It made him think that she truly trusted him, that she was opening up to him more.

Returning his attention to the girls, he was also struck with the realization that someone truly considered him a father. Of course he was the girls’ foster father, but perhaps it hadn’t truly sunk in until now. He was still having trouble finding a place for them, and it was an adjustment from a life as a single man, but he knew that he wouldn’t take it back.

With all of this in mind, Killian found that while he hadn’t expected any of this, he wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.

* * *

“We can’t let this keep going.” LJ told the kids assembled. He, the twins, and Paige were in a backroom of the mechanic’s shop, away from all of the tools, under the guise of them playing a boardgame. In reality, this was a group meeting, because LJ was _done_ with all of this. “Things haven’t been the same since Regina locked Declan in the closet. He and Henry have been miserable, and that’s us miserable. No one’s doing anything, and I’m tired of people hurting my friends.”

“What can we do though?” Paige asked him.

 _That’s a good question,_ LJ thought. “That’s why we need to talk about it now. Declan hasn’t said everything that happened after Regina made me leave the house, and I’m sure that something else happened.”

“How do we get him to talk?” Ava asked. “It’s been two weeks.”

Nick offered, “Maybe we can make him feel better. He’s been kind of...off lately, and maybe if he doesn’t feel bad anymore, he’ll say what happened.”

“Maybe.” LJ concurred. He knew that when Declan wanted to keep his mouth shut, trying to force it open was like opening a bear trap. LJ also knew that despite Declan distancing himself from them, despite trying to convince them that he was fine, Declan was clearly scared.

“That still leaves Mayor Mills.” Paige said. “She’s, well, the _mayor_. How are we supposed to fight that?”

“It might not just be us.” LJ replied. “If we find something really good, or really bad for her, then we can get my uncle, Emma, and Graham to help.”

“So we’re basically Mystery Inc. now?” Ava asked slowly. “We’re the meddling kids trying to find clues?”

LJ paused before saying, “Pretty much yeah.”

"So is Lady our Scooby Doo?" Nick asked.

“We don’t actually own her, but yeah.” LJ said before shaking his head, trying to clear away this digression. “The point is, I don’t like just sitting on my hands. And I don’t think any of you do either.”

To this, the others didn’t respond, at least not verbally. Each of them had an uncomfortable look on their face, confirming what LJ had said.

“So we have to do something.”  LJ continued. “Two of our friends are counting on us, and we can’t let them down.”

“We’ll have to find something first.” Ava pointed out.

"Like what?" Nick asked curiously. “It’s not like we can just break into her house and look for evidence, right?”

LJ definitely knew that breaking and entering was illegal. He didn't have a lawyer uncle around, and not know the lingo. Or the potential legal fees or prison sentences he’d have to deal with. One time when he was little, he accidentally forgot to give the cashier money for a candy bar. After they got home, Ray had spent the next thirty minutes at home explaining the concept of thief and juvenile offenders.

Ray was...a touch overprotective.

“No breaking the law.” LJ said in a firm tone. He then tried to think. He didn’t want to risk having to go back to that house, especially if Regina was in it. There had to be something...hmm... “Maybe...maybe there’s somewhere else she goes, that isn’t her house, where she keeps evidence or whatever?”

 _Like a secret lair,_ a voice in his head asked.

 _Oh wow, who knew that Henry’s superpower included having his thoughts in my head,_ LJ thought.

“Like her office?” Ava asked.

Paige interjected, “We probably won’t get in there, but maybe there’s somewhere else?”

“Exactly.” LJ said. “We should keep an eye out for that kind of place, and we definitely can’t let anyone know what we’re doing.”  

"So we stalk her?" Ava arched a brow. “Nick and I kind of promised our dad we wouldn’t turn to a life of crime.

“It’s not stalking.” LJ claimed. “Just, uh, careful observation.”

All three of them blinked at him.

“Yeah I didn’t believe that it.” He conceded. “Look, if any one of us sees anything, even if its on accident, then we’ll let the others knows. Then we find a way to investigate that. Sounds good?

The others shrugged and agreement.

Satisfied that he’d at least gotten something started, LJ nodded. “Cool.” He then pulled out the board game they were supposed to be playing in the first place. “Now, who wants to play?”

* * *

_February 14, 2012_

Gold didn’t understand the significance of this holiday. People choosing one day out of the year to express their love to someone, spending exorbitant amounts of money on gifts that will be forgotten within the week. At least, depending on how expensive that gift supposedly is.

They had 364 other days - or 365, since this year was what was called a ‘leap year’ - to express their emotions, why ruin that with sappiness?

And yet...seeing so many couples walking the streets of Storybrooke, holding hands and sharing kisses, reminded him of Belle.

They had never kissed in their past life, and Gold felt a pang of regret. He had tried to forget her, had tried to make himself push her existence out of his mind, but for some reason he couldn’t. When he had made that deal with her, her life in exchange for his help, he had just thought he would’ve gotten a helping hand.

Instead, he found someone who he could actually hold a conversation with. She was intelligent, that was certain, and had a thirst for knowledge that may have matched his own. She was always eager to learn, and after some time she had even asked him some clarifying questions.

It was...oddly nice.

She clearly disapproved of his dealings, particularly with that mess with Robin Hood, but she had known what to say to let him live. To allow the man to watch his child grow up.

Not that it mattered in the end.Robin Hood finally met his end by the Evil Queen’s forces, or so he had heard. Since he hadn’t seen the man anywhere, and Marian was under the impression that she was a widow, he believed that the rumors had some foundation. He had almost felt bad about accepting her wedding ring in exchange for money.

Almost.

Now, ‘Nancy’ entered a relationship with the Sheriff, and perhaps her son would have a father after all.

That still left Gold out in the cold, reminding him of what he had lost.

Watching ‘Moe French ‘ unload some flowers into the back of his truck, Gold suppressed his rage. ‘Moe’ hadn’t been the only reason he’d lost Belle, but right now he was his main target. And today of all days was good enough to cause some grief for the man, for what he had done to Belle.

For what had happened to her when he wouldn’t let her back in.

“Well, this is just perfect.” Gold told the man as he approached the touch. “I’ve been looking for you, Mr. French.”

Moe looked at him warily as he said, “I’ll have your money next week.”

 _Excuses, excuses_ , Gold said, wanting to rip the man’s fat throat out. “The terms of the loan were fairly specific.” Gold told him. Upon seeing his henchman arrive, he nodded to him. “Take the van.”

Moe, upon seeing Gold’s man and realizing what was happening, quickly turned to begging. “Wait! No!” Moe pleaded. “It’s Valentine's Day. It’s the biggest day of-” Moe cut himself off when the henchman got into the driver’s safe of the truck. “I’ve got a grand of roses in the back!”

Gold, the richest man in town, wasn’t moved.

The henchman then started the van.

“Stop!” Moe shouted. “You’ve gotta let me sell them!”

“I’m gonna leave two to continue this conversation.” Gold told him, not quite able to suppress all of his satisfaction at watching the man squirm.

Moe looked angry. “Oh, this is no way to do business Gold. You are the lowest. People aren’t going to put up with this.”

As if to emphasize Moe’s powerlessness, the van drove away, leaving Moe looking despondent on the street.

Gold walked away, for now satisfied with ruining Moe’s day, and perhaps his business, when he spotted Regina watching on.

“Mr. Gold.” Regina greeted. “That was quite a show back there.”

Mr. Gold shrugged. “Well, Mr. French is just having a bad day, happens to the best of us.”

Regina started, “I've been meaning to talk to you about something-”

“Yeah, and the moment you have something _I_ want to discuss, we'll have that little chat.” Gold told her, already done with this conversation.

Gold attempted to walk past her, but Regina made sure to step in his path. The look on her face would’ve scared most of the people here into submission. Gold was simply bored.

“No, we’re going to do this now.” Regina told him in a self-assured tone. “It’ll only take a moment.”

 _What could she possibly want,_ Gold thought. _Why is she so insistent now?_

If Regina thought he could be cowed into submission, if she truly thought he was like the other cursed people in town, or a 12-year-old boy, she had better think again.

“Is there something eating you, dear?” Gold asked blithely. “Something you need to get out in the open? 'Cause it's gonna have to wait.” When she opened her mouth to sleep, he allowed himself to smile just a little bit as he emphasized, “ _Please_.”

Gold would never tire of the look on Regina’s face when she realized she _had_ to obey him.

Satisfied that this was over, Gold walked away, a little smirk on his face.

He turned his head, and found that Moe was still standing there, confounded over the loss of his van.

Gold knew that this feeling wouldn’t last forever. For one thing, Moe, or Maurice, wasn’t dead yet. The man’s incompetence and lack of feeling for his own daughter sealed his fate long ago. In their past life, Gold had enjoyed playing a particularly vengeful trick on him, and yet that didn’t ease the pain of Belle’s loss.

Another man’s face came to mind, and Gold clenched his teeth in anger. He hadn’t been able to find the monster responsible for Belle’s death in the Enchanted Forest. He had spent a long time attempting to use his powers as a seer to find the man, to rip him to shreds like he’d done to Belle. And yet, he remained hidden.

No longer. Gold had spotted him chatting with Prince Charming, the two of them unaware of the rage that boiled in Gold’s blood.

This little setback to Moe had simply been a start. As he said, today of all days was ripe to avenge Belle’s death. It was perfect for Gold to ease his pain.

Sooner or later, the man who took Belle away from him would die. A dark part of Gold wondered if he could find a way to feed his corpse to the animals at the shelter he loved so much.

* * *

David was walking down the street when he spotted a small, nearby sandwich shop. Not a moment later, David felt his stomach rumble, and he decided to go in.

Upon entering, David immediately saw that Freddie was pleading with who David assumed was the owner of the restaurant. Despite it being lunch time, there was no one else there, which didn’t exactly inspire confidence in David.

“Please, I don’t know how this is possible.” Freddie said. “I swear, this is $20, and last time you said the meal was supposed to be $10.”

“Try again, buddy.” The owner said unsympathetically. “It says $20, so it costs $20.”

“Hey Freddie.” David greeted.

Freddie turned his way and looked both embarrassed and relieved. “Hi, David.”

“What’s the matter?” David asked as he approached Freddie and the owner.

Instead of addressing him, the owner just told Freddie, “Just leave before I call the police.”

“Okay, okay.” Freddie said, but something seemed off to David.

“No, hold on.” David said. “Let me see the menu.”

The owner hesitated, but Freddie grabbed a nearby menu and handed it to David. After Freddie pointed out what he got, and David noticed the $20 bill clutched in the owner’s hand, David was immediately confounded.

“This says the sandwich Freddie ordered is _$8_.” David told the owner with a dark look.

“What?” Freddie asked in a surprised tone, staring at the menu.

“Yeah, it’s right there.” David pointed out the price, and yet to his confusion, it still didn’t seem to dawn on Freddie. It was right there in front of him. Why couldn’t he see it?

Seeing the look on the owner’s face, David guessed the the owner knew why Freddie couldn’t seem to figure it out, and had decided to take it to his advantage.

Putting the menu back down, David glared at the owner. “Look, just give him his change, or _I’m_ calling the police on you.”

The owner quickly gave them their change, and the two of them left.

“Sorry about that.” Freddie apologized as they walked away.

“Don’t be sorry. That was all on the owner.” David told him, and yet he couldn’t get something out of his head. “Hey, tell me something. How come you didn’t know that it was $8?”

Freddie shrugged, clearly hesitant on answering.

David hadn’t ever really thought about it, but something just niggled in the back of his mind. “Freddie...do you have trouble reading?” David asked him, wondering if he had dyslexia or another disorder.

Freddie looked at him in embarrassment. “No.” He said, but then paused uncertainly, and David knew that he was holding something back.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.” David encouraged.

Freddie opened his mouth before closing it. David waited patiently as Freddie collected himself. They made it about half a block before Freddie said, “I...never really learned to read.”

David’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I know, okay.” Freddie said impatiently, though it was clear that he felt ashamed by this. “No one ever really cared to teach me. Besides, I’ve gotten by well enough so far. It’s just...sometimes I end up meeting people like that sandwich shop guy.”

“How have you been able to work at the pet shelter?” David asked.

Freddie gave him a look. “To them, I just shovel shit, and clean up piss. I don’t actually administer any drugs. I recognize the animals by their behavior and their looks, not by the names on their collars or cages. Otherwise, I’ll just mark stuff by colors.”

Realizing something, David let out, “Ohh. That’s why you always put those post-it notes everywhere.”

“Exactly.” Freddie said. Then, he sighed. “No one’s...ever really noticed me, except when they wanted something. I just kind of slipped through the cracks is all.”

David felt guilt hit him like a punch to the stomach. All this time, Freddie had listened to his problems. He’d been someone he could talk to or rely on, and he’d taken advantage of that. Maybe if he’d asked more about Freddie’s life, then he would’ve learned about this sooner. Who knows how long that owner had been ripping him off? Who knows how many other people have done this to him?

Freddie stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” David asked as he also stopped.

“Listen.” Freddie told him.

David said nothing, and listened, and that’s when he heard it.

An animal hissing.

“It’s coming from over there.” Freddie said as he headed into a nearby alley.

“Freddie, wait.” David said as he followed him into the alley.

“Shh.” Freddie said as they headed further in. Freddie looked around, and there was another hiss coming from an overturned cardboard box.

Freddie grabbed the top of the box, and after a moment of hesitation, he quickly lifted it up.

“Watch it!” David warned as he quickly stepped back, as a ball of dirty fur shot out from under the cardboard box.

The ball of fur stopped against an opposite wall, and upon closer inspection, David realized that it was a kitten.

“Oh, hey beautiful.” Freddie said in a soft voice as he kneeled in front of it. “You gave us a scare.”

“Careful Freddie.” David warned again, though he was less concerned about the kitten’s ferocity than about any diseases it might have had.

“I think it's just scared.” Freddie said before he took off his jacket.

The kitten hissed, though by now David realized it wasn’t quite as ferocious as his mind made it out to be.

“It’s okay.” Freddie said quietly as he laid the jacket down on the ground in front of the kitten.

After a few moments, the kitten grew curious and very hesitantly walked forward towards the jacket.

“It’s okay.” Freddie said, and when the kitten finally got onto the jacket, Freddie slowly closed the jacket around the kitten as if he was waddling it. Freddie then picked up the jacket-wrapped kitten, and rubbed it for good measure.

David saw that the kitten was shivering, utterly quiet for the first time since they’d seen it.

“Poor thing.” Freddie said sympathetically.

“It could have rabies.” David pointed out.

“Or it could just be cold and scared.” Freddie said. “We should probably take this one back to the shelter.”

“Probably.” David said, and now that things had calmed down, he once again remembered what Freddie had told him. So, he asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

Freddie looked at him with a resigned look before he gave a small smile. “I always am. I can take it from here.” He told David before looking at the kitten. “Come on beautiful.” Freddie told the kitten as he began to walk away. “We’ll find you someplace where you’ll be nice and warm. They’ll feed and clean you two.”

David watched Freddie walk away, and he wondered just how much more there was about Freddie that he didn’t know.

* * *

_Androcles was sitting against one of the walls of his ‘room’, which was heavily guarded to prevent him from leaving. He wasn’t needed by King Midas right now, so the king had Art’s head was in his lap, and Androcles ran a hand through her yellow fur._

_Androcles wished that she had more open space to run in. She was a lioness, not a house pet, and yet the people who’d kept her in cages since she was a cub apparently thought otherwise._

_“Poor girl.” Androcles told her. “You don’t deserve to be in this place. You deserve to…” Androcles trailed off. He wanted to tell her that she deserved be free, which only served to remind him of his own lack of freedom._

_There was a loud thump on the wooden cell door, startling both Androcles and Art to startle._

_“Easy, girl.” Androcles told her when she began to growl._

_The door to the cell opened a crack, but no one came through._

_Art took the initiative and went forward to investigate, and yet there were no spears, knives, or sticks coming through to hurt her, as they usually did whenever anyone opened the cell door._

_Swallowing a nervous lump in his throat, Androcles opened the cell door. To his surprise, the guards weren’t there. In fact, as he and Art stepped into the hallway of the dungeon, there were no guards in sight._

_Had she done it? Had Abigail finally kept her promise and freed him? What about Frederick?_

_Neither one was in sight, and a thrum vibrated throughout Androcles’ body as he realized what may be happening._

_“Art, come on.” Androcles whispered in fear of alerting someone. “Come on, let’s go.”_

_Androcles and Art soon began running, and weaving through the curiously empty dungeon passageways until Art ran forward, and began pawing at a door where daylight shone through the cracks._

_Androcles looked around, and found to his dismay that there was nothing around he could use as a weapon. He wasn’t about to waste this chance though. He and Art had been a prisoner for too long._

_Androcles tested the door, and found that it was unlocked. He threw it open, and Art raced through, though he was somewhat taken aback by the sunlight. Still, he forced himself to keep moving, and he and Art ran through the golden hallways of Midas’ castle._

_“There has to be an exit somewhere.” Androcles said frantically as he and Art continued running._

_Unfortunately, that’s when two guards spotted them. “Halt!” One of them shouted._

_“Run!” Androcles shouted to Art, and they ran in the other direction._

_“The king’s servant is escaping!” The other shouted, attempting to warn the castle._

No, no, no _, Androcles thought fearfully. He couldn’t go back to that place. He couldn’t be the king’s ‘servant’ anymore. He would die before his freedom was stolen from him again._

_He and Art ran into the courtyard, and soon enough they were surrounded._

_“You will return to your room.” One of the guards said with a sword pointed at him._

_“You mean my_ cell!” _Androcles shouted back. “You’ll have to kill me first.”_

_“Your life belongs to the king.” One told him as another added, “You should be grateful you can serve him the way you do.”_

_“He stole my freedom!” Androcles told them. “You know this!”_

_“Enough!” One shouted, and that guard came forward with a shout, and Androcles prepared to throw himself on it when-_

_“See?” An unfamiliar, lively voice said, and for s disorienting moment, Androcles wondered why he could no longer feel the warm of the sun on his face. Then, he realized that he and Art were in the throne room, and he was confused as to why they were no longer in the courtyard._

_Androcles looked around, and found King Midas and Princess Abigail staring at him with looks akin to horror. Near them, Frederick was trying to mouth something at him, but Androcles couldn’t figure it out._

_“Over here.” That same giggly voice said behind Androcles._

_Androcles turned around, and found a man with the skin of a lizard and the eyes of a snake. Those eyes were golden, though not quite as golden as whatever Midas touched, and his fingernails looked like claws. The clothes he wore were likely skinned from some reptiles, and his brown hair was scraggly and unkempt._

_Who was this man, and why didn’t Androcles like the look on his face?_

_“No.” King Midas said, and Androcles turned and found that the man hadn’t looked this desperate since the day Androcles had tried to run away. “No, this is not what I meant.”_

_“You said it yourself.” The reptile man said with a grin. “Whatever in that courtyard was mine.”_

_“I need him here.” Midas said, getting up from his throne and approaching them. “Please, Dark One, reconsider. Take anything else, but not him.”_

The Dark One? _, Androcles thought strangely. What business did Midas have with the Dark One?_

_“Shall I ask for your daughter then?” The Dark One asked, and effectively shut Midas’ mouth. “Now, we’ve already made a deal, and now I’m going to claim my end of the bargain.”_

_“Please, don’t hurt him.” Abigail pleaded, also rising from her throne and approaching, though Frederick thankfully held her back. She shot her father a look as she added, “He’s been through enough.”_

_Midas actually flinched._

_“What I do with him and the cat is my business.” The Dark One said, and Androcles felt Art brush up against his leg. “Now, our business is concluded, and my newfound property and I shall leave.”_

_“Property?” Androcles asked in incredulous anger, quickly realizing that somehow, someway, he had just been bought_ again.

_Before Androcles could say more, he saw smoke before his eyes, and once again felt disoriented. The next time his feet touched the ground, Androcles couldn’t find the strength to stand, and he fell to the ground in a heap._

_“Oh my goodness.” A woman’s voice said, and soon he felt a hand on his shoulder._

_Androcles flinched, and he looked up to see that he was now in a new castle, one that was darker on the inside, and he wondered if this was where the Dark One lived._

_Looking at the person who touched him, Androcles found himself staring at a lovely woman with blue eyes, her brown hair held back and away from her face. She wore a light blue dress with short white sleeves._

_The woman had a kind look on her face. “Are you alright?” When Androcles didn’t answer, she looked around and looked surprised. “Is that a lion?”_

_Turning his head, Androcles found Art lying on the ground._

_“Art!” Androcles called out, quickly joining the lioness’ side and running a soothing hand over her neck. “Art, are you alright?”_

_“What did you do?” The woman asked, and when Androcles turned his head, he found that she was standing face-to-face with the Dark One, not an inch of fear on her face._

_“Belle, these are our new….eh employees?” The Dark One told the woman, clearly unconcerned with them. “I figured you could use some help around here, so I’ve procured them.”_

_“How?” Belle asked him persistently._

_“I struck a deal with King Midas.” The Dark One said as he looked at Androcles like...like he was_ nothing. 

_“You_ bought _him?” Belle asked in a horrified tone._

_“Traded, actually.” The Dark One clarified, though Belle clearly wasn’t happy. The Dark One waved an impatient hand. “Midas was just keeping them in a cage until he needed them. This way, they have some room to roam. Listen, I have work to do. Your new responsibility is to teach them the rules. Simple as that.”_

_“Rumple-” Belle started, but the Dark One simply raised a hand, and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke._

_Androcles released a shaky breath. It had all happened so fast, but he was now catching up to what had just happened. He had been traded, like a commodity. Had the Dark One arranged for him to be in the courtyard? Is that why no one was there to stop him? What exactly had Midas traded him for?_

_“It’s okay.” Belle said as she kneeled before him on the floor, Androcles still petting Art. “It’s going to be alright.”_

_“No it’s not.” Androcles said, trying to keep control of himself. “I’m still a...I’m never going to be free again.”_

_“Yes you will.” Belle promised._

_“How?” Androcles shot back, desperation in his voice, remembering that Abigail and Frederick had made him a similar promise._

_“I don’t know.” She told him. “But I promise, I will help you somehow.”_

_“Why?” Androcles asked her. “You don’t even know me.”_

_Belle paused before saying, “Because you don’t deserve this.”_

_Androcles didn’t answer, and instead focused on breathing._

_Belle bit her lip before saying, “My name is Belle. What’s your name?”_

_He paused before saying, “Androcles. This is Art.”_

_“Hello Androcles.” Belle said with a small smile. “Despite the circumstances, it’s to meet you.”_

_Androcles looked around the room before looking back at Belle. “Why are you here?”_

_Belle got a sad look on her face before saying, “I made a deal with the Dark One to stay here, so that he would save my people. I work here now.”_

_“At least you had a choice.” Androcles said bitterly._

_“Mhmm.” Belle hummed with a nod. “Listen, I know this has all happened fast, but it’s best if we get moving. He doesn’t like idle hands.”_

_Androcles rubbed a hand over his head, and he felt Art stir next to him. “Art, are you alright?”_

_Art was able to get up, and growled at Belle in suspicion._

_“It’s okay, girl.” Androcles told her, gently petting her neck. “This is Belle. We’re...going to be here for a while.”_

_He never knew how much Art understood of what he said, but soon enough, Art walked away, ignoring Belle._

_Androcles and Belle eventually got up, and walked over to a window. There before them was a large expanse of forest, a stark different to the golden castle and the light blue lake of Midas’ kingdom._

_It was a pretty thing to look at, but it was dulled by the single overwhelming thought that pervaded Androcles mind._

I’m never going home. I’ll be a slave forever.

* * *

Since LJ was still playing at the Zimmer twins’ house, and deciding to put the Reine file on hold for today, Ray found the time to go over to Granny’s. He couldn’t quite keep the smile off his thought at the thought of seeing Ruby again. Since their first date, they had gone on three more.

He really hoped that Ruby didn’t find his gift too forward.

Ray entered the diner, found it fairly busy, and soon spotted Ruby. His heartbeat skipped as he watched her. She had this smile on her face where she was clearly trying to make the best of a bad situation, such as what he was witnessing right now. From what he could see, one customer was taking a particularly long time decided what they wanted.

“You going to stand there all day?” Mrs. Lucas asked from next to Ray.

“Hello, Mrs. Lucas.” Ray told her, still keeping his gift behind his back so Ruby wouldn’t see it.

Mrs. Lucas looked at him sternly, and Ray felt his nervousness spike.

“Hey.” Ruby said, finally noticing him as she walked over. She saw Granny’s look, rolled her eyes, and then grabbed his hand to pull him away from the older woman.

Ray let out a nervous chuckle as they entered the back room, away from prying eyes. “This is for you.” He said as he revealed his gift, a single rose with a red ribbon tied around the stem.

Ruby smiled affectionately. “Awww, thanks.” She said as she accepted it. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

Ray shrugged with a shy smile. “It’s no problem. I’m glad you like it.” He had never given a girl flowers before, but he was glad this worked out.

“So...you sure that you’re not free tonight?” Ruby asked, though judging by the look on her face, she already knew the answer.

Ray shook his head. “Sorry, no. I got a massive workload I have to deal with.”

“You work too much you know.” Ruby pointed out before saying, “I’m kidding...mostly. It’s fine.” Ruby said. “Besides, I’ve still got girls’ night with Ashley and Dada.”

“Dada’s joining you?” Ray asked, as this was news to him.

“Mhmm.” Ruby said. “It’s kind of a last minute thing. Apparently, her boyfriend had kind of a panic attack in a crowded place, and she feels bad about taking him out tonight. So, Ashley and I invited her to girls’ night.”

“Mmm.” Ray hummed in sympathy for both Dada and her boyfriend. She’d been so excited at the prospect of spending Valentine’s Day with someone. Ray was glad that she managed to make new plans. “Well I hope you three have fun. I better let you get back to work.”

“Without a kiss?” Ruby asked with a smirk. “Ray, I’m offended.”

Ray smiled amusedly. “Then I am very sorry.” He said in a lowered voice. “Can I make it up to you?”

When Ruby nodded, Ray leaned forward to kiss her. Ray smiled as he felt her hands on his arms, noticing the way the rose she still held brushed against him. Her lips were pressed against his, moving against his, and he distantly wondered if her red lipstick would end up on his lips.

“If you’re done making out in our backroom.” Mrs. Lucas announced, causing the two of them to break off the kiss and look at the stern woman. “Ruby needs to get back to work.”

Ruby sighed, “Seriously?”

“No, it’s okay.” Ray said with a touch of embarrassment. “I should probably get going anyways.”

Ruby looked at him, clearly disappointed by the interruption, but nodded.

Ray kissed him on the cheek. “Have fun with girls’ night.”

“Good luck with work.” Ruby told him.

Ray smiled and then left, making sure avoid eye contact with Mrs. Lucas even as he said goodbye to her as well.

He’d make it up to Ruby somehow.

* * *

_So someone finally got fed up with Gold,_ Emma thought as she looked at all the stuff Moe French had stolen from Mr. Gold to her desk. When she’d gotten the call, she and Graham had wondered if this was just Gold sending them after someone who owed him something. Given what happened with Ashley, it wouldn’t exactly be the first time.

It turned out to be the real deal, and thankfully it had been ridiculously easy to find all of this stuff. She and Graham had taken it to the station, and placed all of it on her desk. Now that Gold was here, it should’ve just ended, right?

Wrong.

“You’re welcome.” Emma said as she and Graham stood side-by-side, watching Gold look over all of the items. “You were right. Your man Moe ripped you off. It was all still at his place.”

“And the man himself?” Gold asked, not taking his eyes off of the items.

“We’ll find him soon enough.” Graham told him.

“So, job well half-done, then.” Gold said in an unimpressed tone.

 _Oh give me a break,_ Emma thought. “In less than a day, we got all of this back.” She told him. That’s when Emma noticed a disappointed, almost distressed look on Gold’s face. “Is something wrong?”

“You’ve recovered nothing.” Gold said, his voice raspier than usual. “There’s _something_ missing.”

Emma and Graham shared a curious look before Emma said, “We’ll get it when we find Moe.”

“He’s the least of my problems.” Gold said, and again, Emma saw something desperate beneath Gold’s calm facade. Something in Emma was greatly worried when she saw a coldly determined look in his eyes. “I need to strike at the source.” He said cryptically as he began to walk out.

“Don’t do anything illegal Gold.” Graham said, though Gold paid him no mind as he left.

“Great.” Emma groused. “Now what do we do with all of this stuff?”

“Put it in evidence?” Graham suggested. “Right now, I’m more concerned with what Gold might do to Moe if he does find him.”

Emma made a noise of agreement. “Think we should follow him?”

“I will.” Graham said. When Emma looked at him in surprise, he turned to her and said in an amused tone, “ _You_ , Deputy, have a date to go on tonight. By the way, where are you two going?”

“A restaurant near the beach.” Emma told him, unable to stop the smile on her face. “Then we’re planning on taking a walk there. You?”

Graham replied, “Late shift. Nancy volunteered to keep Declan since he and Fernando have been getting on.”

“That’s good.” Emma said before asking, “How’s he been holding up, by the way? Get anything new?”

Graham shook his head. “The only thing he’s really told me about what happened is that he ended up in the closet, and it reminded him of his damn parents.”

Emma nodded, though she was a little worried that Declan still hadn’t come out of this two weeks later.

Graham noticed the look on her face and forced himself to smile. “Don’t worry about us. Tonight, your main goal is to show Killian a good time.”

Emma gave a good natured roll of the eyes. “Well I aim to please.”

"Shoo." Graham playfully waved her away. "Go knock Killian off his feet. Not literally though, I don't want to have to arrest you for assault." He joked. Then he tilted his head curiously. "Unless Killian is into that."

Heat stole up Emma's face. The thought of gaining some quality private time with Killian had crossed her mind. She didn’t want Graham to know about that though.

Thinking about Killian more, Emma knew that it wasn’t the holiday that made this date different. It was what they talked about yesterday. Between her confession about her insecurities and about Neal, two things she had sworn years ago to never reveal again, she knew that Killian was different than anyone else she’d met. She actually felt safe enough to tell him all of this, and not worry about him using it against her.

She felt _that_ safe around someone.

Plus, with the way he handled Mai’s whole calling him ‘Daddy’ thing, Killian somehow kept finding ways to surprise her.

“Thinking real hard about what Killian’s into, are you?” Graham teased.

Emma poked her finger into his shoulder not-too-gently. “How about you focus on what Nancy’s into, and I’ll keep my questions to myself.”

Graham blushed a little. “Oh go and seduce your librarian already.”

Emma rolled her eyes as she checked the time, seeing that her shift was almost done anyways. As she grabbed her coat and keys, Emma told Graham, “Good luck with overloving couples tonight.”

Graham replied, “So you and Killian then?”

Emma flipped him off as she walked out of the station, Graham laughing at her as she left.

* * *

_“What happened next?” Belle asked intrigued as she and Androcles cleaned a particularly dusty room in the castle._

_Androcles smiled at her curious tone. “Well, Penelope had just decided that she must delay the suitors further. She got her husband’s bow, and stated that she would marry the suitor who can string it and then shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes. Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, easily went unnoticed by Penelope’s suitors.” Androcles pretended to hold a bow and arrow, and pretended to aim at something as Belle watched in rapt attention. “The suitors, despite looking down on this ‘beggar’, complained, afraid that he would succeed. But then, Odysseus strings the arrows, and whoosh!” Androcles pretended to release the arrow. “The single arrow goes through the heads of all twelve axes.”_

_“Oh, keep going.” Belle pleaded as Androcles returned to his work. “There must be more.”_

_“There is, but we should finish first.” Androcles told her._

_“I wonder why I’ve never heard of this story.” Belle mused. “And here I thought I read a lot of books.”_

_“That’s because it’s not in a book.” Androcles told her as he scrubbed away at some particularly stubborn grime. “My mother told me this story, as it was told to her by her father, as it was told to him by his father. We learn our stories from our words, not by pages.”_

_“Why not?” Belle asked, as if the concept had never occurred to her._

_Androcles shrugged. “Because we don’t need to. And if I may be frank, the people who do feel as if stories only matter if they’re written down, don’t exactly have an interest in writing down_ our _stories.”_

_“That makes no sense.” Belle said. “Why wouldn’t they want more knowledge?”_

_“Probably because they prefer their own.” Androcles said. “They think that their knowledge is the only one that matters.”_

_“Well- Ah!” Belle shouted, and in a split second Art began to run towards her as Belle, who had been dusting a high shelf, fell off the ladder._

_“Belle!” Androcles shouted as he rushed forward, and barely managed to keep standing as he caught her. Androcles helped her get on her feet, but kept her hands on her arms to keep her steady. “Are you alright?”_

_“I’m fine.” Belle said, then laughed as Art nudged against her. “I’m fine Art.”_

_“She’s worried about you.” Androcles told her._

_“She didn’t used to.” Belle pointed out._

_Androcles scoffed. “That was weeks ago. She knows you’re good people.”_

_Belle smiled a little before saying, “Just like I know you’re good people.”_

_Androcles smiled back, and that’s when he noticed that his hands were still on Belle’s arms. Furthermore, he realized that Belle’s hands had been on his chest. He looked up, and found himself looking into Belle’s eyes, and that she was doing the same with him._

_Androcles paused a little before clearing his throat, taking a step back. “Sorry.” He said._

_“For what?” Belle asked, taking a step forward to close the distance between them._

_Androcles couldn’t quite take his eyes away from Belle’s face, and yet he said, “Belle we can’t.”_

_“Why not?” Belle insisted, a small, hopeful smile on her face._

_“It’s bad enough we’re stuck here.” Androcles told her. “But...I do care about you. The thing is, what if we’re separated? What if the Dark One decides to toy with us further?”_

_“He can’t control our hearts.” Belle told him, taking one of his hands in hers._

_Androcles' heart pounded in his chest. Without thinking, he linked his fingers through Belle’s. She had been perhaps the only solace besides Art in this place. Even if he wasn’t sure she could keep her promise about freeing him, he knew that his day became better once he saw her again._

_She kept him sane._

_“Unless I’m wrong.” Belle said with slight hesitation. “Am I?”_

_“You’re not wrong.” Androcles told her immediately. He then paused before adding, “I...You make me happy, Belle. I want…”_

_“What do you want?” Belle asked._

_Androcles hesitated before saying, “Well, first I want freedom. And if I have that, then I’d like to spend that freedom with you.” Art then nudged against his leg, and Androcles let out a nervous chuckle. “And Art of course.”_

_“Oh, absolutely.” Belle said with a nervous chuckle of her own. “How could you forget her?”_

_Androcles swore he almost saw a smirk on Art’s face._

_Androcles nodded. He wanted to be free. He wanted to be with Belle, in whatever capacity that meant. There was only one thing standing in their way._

_“We’re getting out of here.” Androcles told her, his tone serious. “One way or another, Belle, we will be free of this place. There’s always a way out of a cell, and we will find it.”_

_Belle nodded, clearly on board with this plan, but before she could saw anything, someone new spoke._

_“It has come to my attention that you two aren’t satisfied with the terms of your employment.” The Dark One said, appearing in the room suddenly with a grin on his reptilian face, and Androcles felt his stomach drop. “In fact, I find you two are quite...distracted. I believe it’s time to correct that.”_

There’s more than one way out a cell, _Androcles thought worriedly._ I just hope our way out doesn’t include a shallow grave.

* * *

Killian finished buttoning up his shirt and looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. After everything that happened, he wanted this night to go well. Checking on his appearance once last time, making sure that everything was alright, Killian stepped out of the bathroom.

And was immediately assaulted by the sight of his two foster daughters clapping ferociously, with Mai trying to whistle but only blowing air.

Even Lady barked along with them.

He rolled his eyes, though his lips curled up in a smile.

“Alright, settle down.” Killian told them as he went to find his coat. “Are you two going to behave for Mary Margaret?”

“Don’t we always?” Phoebe asked with a smirk.

Mai groaned for a second.

“Is everything okay?” Killian asked her in concern.

“My stomach hurts.” Mai said.

“I told you to go to the bathroom already.” Phoebe said before looking at Killian. “She keeps trying to hold it in.”

“Mai, that’s not good for your bladder.” Killian told her. “Go to the bathroom.”

Mai looked like she wanted to argue, but ended up saying, “Yes Daddy.” She then went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. There was a click of the lock.

“Unlock the door.” Killian said, mindful of the fact that even though there was a stool there for her to get on the toilet, anything could happen with a little kid.

A second later, there was another click, signifying that the door was unlocked.

“Are you sure it’s alright?” Phoebe asked him a little hesitantly. “You know, about her calling you her dad? I can make her stop if you want.”

“I already told you, it’s fine.” Killian said. “Why are you so worried about this?”

Phoebe paused. “Because...because I don’t want her to get hurt. I...I think you’re a really nice guy, you know?” Phoebe said, and now her expression held an undertone of stress. Her breath stuttered a bit as she spoke again. “I mean you’d have to be. You didn’t owe us anything, especially me, but you took us in. I’m just...worried that something’s gonna happen, and then we’ll have to leave, and then Mai will get all sad and weepy because she got really close to you and…”

“Phoebe, you don’t have to worry about that.” Killian assured her as he stepped forward until he was close enough to place his hand on her shoulder. Phoebe bit her lip, stress clear on every part of her face. Killian thought over his words before speaking. “I know things haven’t always been easy, especially between us, but I’m doing everything I can to keep you girls here. Let me worry about it. You just go to school and have fun.”

Phoebe nodded silently. A few moments passed before she looked at him again, and though the stress remained there, there was a touch of humor as well. “I hope you don’t think school and fun mean the same thing.” She joked quietly.

“As a father, I definitely do mean that they are the same thing.” He teased in return.

Phoebe rolled her eyes with a scoff.

“Ah, don’t you roll your eyes at me young lady.” Killian told her, taking his hand off her shoulder to shake a teasing finger at her. “Do you roll your eyes at Mary Margaret?”

“Nope.” Phoebe said as she grabbed her jacket and put it on. He could hear the sound of the toilet flushing. “She gives me treats.”

“I’m ready.” Mai said as she opened the door.

“Did you wash your hands?” Killian asked.

Mai froze before turning around. “I’m not ready.” She said, trying to reach the sink but being too short to do so.

“Let me.” Killian said, going forward to fetch the stool, and then placing it in front of the sink. He then helped Mai up onto the stool. “There we go.”

“Thanks.” Mai said as Killian helped put the soap in her hand. It didn’t take too long before she was cleaned up. By the time they got their jackets and shoes on, Phoebe had gotten Lady’s collar and leash on. She’d also grabbed the bag of Lady’s toys.

“Come on Dad-Romeo.” Phoebe smirked. “We’ve got to get you to your princess.”

Killian was a little surprised at her use of the word ‘Dad’, even if it was a mild one, but smiled to himself. They were really coming around. He still found it in him to roll his eyes at Phoebe’s use of Mai’s belief that Emma was a princess.

Killian grabbed his keys, and soon the four of them were out the door and on the way to Mary Margaret’s.

* * *

“Okay.” Sean said, clearly anxious as he kept a hand in the pocket the engagement ring was in. The other hand held a small bouquet of red roses. “I just go in, make a nice speech, and ask her to marry me. Yeah, yeah that’ll work.”

“You _can_ do it in private.” Ray said. “That way, whatever happens, you’ll be fine.” He still had time before he had to go back to work, and he wanted to help Sean with this.

“Whatever happens?” Sean asked nervously. “As in she’ll say no?”

“Or that she’ll say yes but this way it’ll just be between you two.” Ray told him. “Relax, it’s going to be fine.”

Sean nodded a bit frantically.

Ray put a hand on Sean’s shoulder and made the anxious young man face him. “Sean, remember to breathe.”

Sean nodded, momentarily forgetting to breathe before Ray reminded him to do so. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

“We can turn back if you want.” Ray offered. “After all, you’re young and you can always try later.”

Sean immediately backpedaled. “But I want to ask her. I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“Why?” Ray asked, hoping this would prompt Sean the way he thought it would.

Sean looked incredulous. “Why? Because she’s the nicest girl I’ve ever met. She makes me smile. I love spending time with her, and I can’t imagine anyone else being my kid’s mom. I know we had a rough start, but these past months are just proof that we are good together.”

Ray smirked.

It took Sean a moment before he said, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Yep.” Ray said as he patted Sean’s shoulders before urging him to get moving again. “Just tell Ashley everything you just said, but add more puppy eyes.”

Sean glared at him.

Ray chuckled. “Remember to smile.”

“You’re the worst.” Sean said with a chagrined smile. They spotted Granny’s head. Ashley was going to finish up her shift before going on her girls’ night with Ruby and Dada, and Sean knew it was probably the only time he had today to ask her. “I can do this.”

“Yes you can.” Ray said as they headed inside the diner.

“Funny seeing you again.” Ruby saw upon seeing him.

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, but right now we need to know where Ashley is.” Ray said as he clapped the shoulder of a nervous Sean.

Ruby immediately looked apprehensive. “Oh, no. Is she in trouble again? Is it Gold?”

“Quite the opposite, actually.” Ray said, then silently mouthed to ‘Just go with it’.

Ruby got the message, and said, “She’s in the laundry room.”

“Cool, thanks.” Sean said nervously before taking a deep breath, and headed to the laundry room.

“Is he doing what I think he’s doing?” Ruby asked in anticipation.

“Whatever happens between Sean and Ashley is their business.” Ray told her. “But, yes.”

Ruby grinned before saying, “I’m kind of hoping she says yes.”

There was a sound from the laundry room that could only be described as ‘joy’. About a minute later, Ashley and Sean came out, with Ashley wearing a wedding ring. Both of them looked incredibly happy.

Ray smiled. “I think she just did.”

* * *

David wasn't sure what exactly he was doing here. He didn’t know where else to be. But hey, if Mary Margaret didn’t want him there, he would just leave.

Taking a breath, he knocked on the door.

Soon, Mary Margaret opened it with a surprised look on her face. “David?” Mary Margaret asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just in the neighborhood.” David said before stammering, “Besides, I didn’t really, you know, have anyone else to be with. As in someone to hang out with. You know, everyone’s doing something or other.”

From inside the loft, he heard a little girl asked, “Mary Margaret, can I have a cookie?”

Mary Margaret turned to the voice and said, “Just wait. I’ll be there in a second.”

“You’re babysitting?” David asked, feeling awkwarder by the second.

“Yep.” Mary Margaret said. “Killian and Emma are out on a date.”

David didn’t know why, but he suddenly wondered what Killian was doing with Emma before the thought drifted away.

“Ah.” David said, feeling a little embarrassed. “I’ll just, uh, go now.”

“Wait.” Mary Margaret said.

“Yes?” David asked, knowing he sounded a little too hopeful.

“Why don't you come in?” Mary Margaret suggested. “I'm sure that us babysitting together is just the scandal the town needs.”

David joked, “Ah yes. We are known for our fast and loose living.”

Mary Margaret chuckled before opening the door wider, another invitation to come in.

David took her up on her offer.

After she closed the door, David was immediately confronted by two young girls and a dog.

“Hi.” Mai said. After a pause, she noticed her sister hadn’t done the same, and she poked her leg.

“Quit it.” Phoebe said before looking at David. “Hi Mr. Nolan.”

“Hi. You can call me David.” He replied.

“You want to play checkers with us?” Mai asked.

“You don’t even know how to play.” Phoebe told her.

“Yes I do!” Mai protested.

Mary Margaret whispered lowly to him, “She really doesn’t.”

David chuckled. “Well, Mai, if you know how to play, why don't you teach me?”

Mai grinned widely. “Okay!” She then went forward, took his hand in hers, and tugged him over to a nearby coffee table. “I’ll get the checkers.”

Mai grabbed the checkers boxed, and then nearly spilled everything on the floor when she mishandled it.

“I got it.” Phoebe said, swiftly taking possession of the box to the little girl’s frustration. Phoebe quickly set up the checkers playset on the table, to which Mai’s irritation went away.

David sat on one side of the coffee table while Mai sat on the other. What followed was a series of increasingly strange rules of how to play the game, which included what Mai called ‘the slide hop’. This was evidenced when at some point in the game, Mai managed to collect three checkers by ‘hopping’ one of her checkers in a single diagonal line.

David had to admit, he was impressed with the little girl's ingenuity and determination to collect all of the checkers. Not just his, as was the point of actual checkers, but hers too.

“Noooooooooooo.” David drew out dramatically as Mai ended up having the most checkers on her side.

“Yay!” Mai nearly shouted in victory, before quietly whispering it when Mary Margaret told her to use her ‘inside voice’. “I won.” She continued to whisper.

“Nooooo.” David whispered as well. “You beat me.” He then dramatically flopped on the floor.

Mai giggled. “Silly David.”

“Tricks are for kids.” Phoebe said in a deadpan tone.

Mary Margaret snorted adorably.

David, still on the floor, looked up at her with a smile he couldn’t seem to get rid of. He hadn’t gotten to spend as much time with her as he would’ve liked, but he hoped that he would make up for it. This wasn’t exactly how he imagined spending time with Mary Margaret, but he liked it nonetheless.

The way Mary Margaret looked at him, he had a feeling she felt the same way.

“Mm.” Mai hummed, though she seemed displeased. David looked over, and found that she was clutching her stomach.

“Mai, are you okay?” Mary Margaret asked as she quickly came by the little girl’s side. David sat up, seeing the concerned look on Phoebe’s face.

“My stomach hur-” Mai couldn’t speak as she retched. Before anyone could say anything, Mai threw up over her shirt.

David and Mary Margaret immediately sprung into action. Mary Margaret tried to get Mai up, and Mai threw up a little more, this time on the floor. Mai started crying.

“Bathroom, bathroom!” Mary Margaret said frantically.

David, trying hard not to get any vomit on him, picked up Mai in his arms and followed Mary Margaret to the bathroom. He managed to get Mai to toilet before she threw up again.

“Ow.” Mai whimpered before throwing up again.

“I’ll find a shirt.” Mary Margaret said before disappearing. Phoebe soon came in, and with surprisingly firmness for someone who was half his age and much shorter than he was, she took his place comforting Mai, holding her up so she could reach the toilet.

“That’s it, just let it out.” Phoebe said as she held Mai’s hair back in one hand, rubbing her back with the other.

Next to David, Lady whimpered at Mai’s plight.

“It hur-” Mai started, tears streaming down her face before her face disappeared again, crying as she vomited into the toilet.

“I know.” Phoebe said sympathetically. “Don’t worry, just keep doing it.”

“Where-” Mai retched, calming herself down enough to finished, “Where’s Daddy?”

“We’re going to call him soon.” David said comfortingly, grabbing some nearby wipes to clean Mai’s face.

“I want Dad-” Mai threw up again, crying into the toilet.

 _Poor kid,_ David thought as Mai spit out the last of her vomit into the toilet. Phoebe helped set Mai down on her feet.

“Here we go.” David said as he began to wipe away the saliva and vomit from Mai’s face.

“Sorry.” Mai whimpered.

“Ah, it’s okay.” David told her. “We all get a little sick sometimes.

"Okay, I found a shirt.” Mary Margaret said as she appeared with a shirt in hand. It looked a little big for Mai, and David guessed that it was perhaps one of Mary Margaret or Emma’s T-Shirts. David threw the wipe away, and then left the bathroom to give the girls privacy. Not too long afterwards, Mary Margaret was leading Mai (now in a clean shirt) out of the bathroom, the vomit-covered shirt balled up in her hand.

“I think you need a little something to eat.” Mary Margaret told Mai, who shook her head. “Aw, I know your tummy doesn’t feel too good, but eating some crackers and ginger ale will help.”

“Ginger ale?” Mai asked curiously.

“Mhmm.” Mary Margaret said before standing up, and offering her hand. When Mai took it, she grabbed the vomited shirt and led her out of the bathroom. She then told David, “I’m going to put this in the laundry. You mind taking her to the kitchen?”

“Of course.” David said, offering his hand to Mai.

Mai looked at it hesitantly before taking it, and David, Phoebe, Mai and Lady headed to the kitchen as Mary Margaret headed to the laundry.

“There we go.” David said as he picked Mai up and placed her on one of the stools by the kitchen counter.

Soon Mary Margaret brought some ginger ale and crackers for Mai to eat. While Phoebe got Mai to start hesitantly start eating them, Mary Margaret pulled David aside.

“Well, her shirt is in the laundry, and hopefully she can keep down those crackers.” Mary Margaret told him. “Sorry about this whole thing.”

“It’s fine.” David replied. “It’s not like you could predict her getting sick. Any idea what could’ve caused it?”

Mary Margaret paused before shrugging. “It could be food poisoning. Kids her age tend to get sick a little more easily.”

David nodded. “Let’s hope it passes quickly.”

* * *

Ruby couldn’t help but stare at Ashley’s engagement ring, especially since Ashley couldn’t stop showing it off. It was a simple ring with a single simple jewel in the middle. It was cute and sweet, kind of like Ashley and Sean.

“Wooooow.” Ruby said as she looked at Ashley’s happy face.

“Congratulations.” Dada told Ashley.

“I’m just…” Ashley trailed off, a grin on her face. “Oh, I’m just so happy. I mean, I was all sad earlier because he’d be working, and we wouldn’t get to spend today together, but-” Ashley cut herself off as a grin once again came on her face. “Okay, okay, enough about me. What’s going on with you two?”

Ruby sighed. “Well Ray’s super busy tonight, so he couldn’t come.” The guy worked way too much, but maybe it was for the best. They were only sort-of dating, or necessarily exclusive, and it hadn’t been for long. Maybe this was a way to avoid making things weird.

Ruby looked over at the bar, and found some patrons were interested in her. Before, she’d probably go for it, but right now it just didn’t feel right. Mainly because Ray’s face appeared in her mind, and because she found that despite her attempts to ignore it, she was disappointed that he couldn’t be here tonight.

Ashley nodded. “What about you, Dada?”

Dada answered with a sad look on her face, “Jefferson tried to come out today, but he had a panic attack. He can’t really handle too many people at once.”

Ruby and Ashley looked at him sympathetically.

“Well, tell him I hope he feels better.” Ashley said.

“Same here.” Ruby added.

“I will.” Dada said just as their drinks (well, Ruby’s drink and Ashley and Dada’s sodas) got to them.

“I can’t wait until you guys are 21 and can actually drink.” Ruby said as she took a sip.

“I wonder what my first drink will be.” Ashley asked thoughtfully.

“It’s probably not that big a deal.” Dada said, though something about her tone made Ruby immediately suspicious.

“Dada, is there something you want to tell us?” Ruby asked.

“What? No.” Dada denied.

Ruby smiled. “You’ve already had something to drink, haven’t you?” She said lowly.

Dada opened her mouth, probably to deny it, but eventually conceded, “Okay, yes, just once.”

“What?” Ashley asked with a curious smile. “When? What’d you have to drink?”

“Uh…” Dada trailed off as she thought about it. “It was on Thanksgiving at the Rabbit Hole. I had a beer and it tasted, well, like beer. Not sure what I expected, really.”

“What were you doing at the Rabbit Hole?” Ashley asked.

“And how come they didn’t card you?” Ruby added.

“It was pretty busy in there.” Dada answered. “I didn’t stay long because Jefferson got anxiety. I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did.”

“Wait, Jefferson was there?” Ruby asked.

“Why was he there?” Ashley asked her. “Why did he let you drink?”

“He didn’t _let_ me do anything.” Dada said, seemingly offended by the implication. “I just kind of...got it when no one was looking. We left before I could even finish it.”

Ashley didn’t seem convinced.

“He’s a good guy.” Dada defended, a little fire in her eyes.

“We’re not doubting that.” Ruby said diplomatically. “Come on. This is our night out. We’re supposed to be having fun, right?”

Ashley and Dada paused before nodding in agreement.

“Right.” Ruby said with a smile. “So, how about we-” That’s when Ruby noticed something, or rather someone around the bar. “Hey, isn’t that August?” She asked, subtly pointing the man out.

The girls turned their heads in that direction, and Dada nodded in recognition. August was roaming the bar, chatting people up, but never really staying in one place for long. He looked over in their direction, and raised up his drink in greeting.

Ruby waved back, and found that Dada was doing the same.

“So.” Dada started, looking at Ashley. “Have you and Sean talked about when the wedding might be?”

“We didn’t have the time.” Ashley said. “He had to go back to work. Hopefully we can set a date soon.”

“You planning on going anywhere?” Ruby asked.

Ashley scoffed. “On our salaries, nowhere far. Besides, we would need someone to take care of Alexandra.”

“I could do it.” Ruby said before self-consciously adding, “Or maybe not. After what happened with Fernando and Declan, my career as a babysitter is probably dead.”

“No one blames you for what happened.” Ashley told her firmly. “Things just got crazy.”

Ruby nodded but didn’t say anything. Granny had scolded her for losing them, but even the old woman had limits for how much she could rake Ruby over the coals for this. She didn’t need to say anything, though. Ruby knew that deep down, Granny wasn’t about to trust her to look after a kid again. Why would she? Ruby didn’t even trust herself.

“Stop that.” Ashley said gently. “You said that this was a night to enjoy ourselves, and I’m not going to let you feel guilty about this.”

“Exactly.” Dada concurred. “How about we, uh...bar hop or something? Or maybe we just go somewhere else? A change of scene could help.”

Ruby thought it over before nodded with a little smile.

“That’s the spirit.” Dada said. “After we’re done here, we can go somewhere else.”

“Like the Rabbit Hole for a beer?” Ruby teased.

Dada gave her a flat look. “I’m going to regret telling you that, aren’t I?”

“What? Noooo.” Ruby drew out, laughing a little when Dada comically deflated. “I’m kidding. Besides, it’s nice to know that even you’re not above breaking the rules a little.”

“I do not.” Dada said. At Ruby and Ashley’s looks, she added with a little smile, “Okay, maybe a little.”

Ashley smiled as she raised her glass. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Ruby and Dada said, clinking their glasses together.

There might not be a lot to do in this little, out of the way town, but Ruby figured that it was nice to have two people to hang out with.

* * *

Emma and Killian held hands as they walked along the beach, relieved as they were very few people there. It was nice out tonight, and the relative quiet calmed Emma. She felt...at peace.

It was something that she hadn't felt in a while.

“You okay?” Killian asked her.

“I’m fine.” Emma told him.

“Just fine?” Killian asked curiously.

Emma looked over and smiled at him. “I’m just...happy. I’m not really used to that.” She told him truthfully.

Killian smiled. “Me too. It’s nice to spend some time alone with you.”

“Not too alone.” Emma pointed out as she nodded at the few on the beach.

“Fair enough.” Killian conceded. “Still, it's nice out and there isn't a crisis.”

Emma chuckled. “Don't tempt fate. I’m kind of hoping that Graham can hold down the fort until tomorrow.”

“And if everything goes well, I won’t have to pick up the girls for, oh, another two hours or so.” Killian said before bringing her hand up to his lips. “So until then, we are left to our own devices.”

Emma arched a curious eyebrow as she asked, “And what exactly did you have in mind?”

Killian answered her by stopping them, and then bringing her into a kiss.

“We’ve done this a lot.” Emma said, briefly pulling back before returning to the kiss. “I was hoping you might have something else in mind.”

“And what would that be?” Killian asked.

Emma didn’t verbally respond, but she did allow her hands to slide oh so lightly to the waistband of his pants.

Killian’s breath stuttered. “I never took you for an exhibitionist.” He tried to joke, though Emma didn’t miss the pinkness that appeared on his cheeks.

“Then how about we go somewhere more private?” Emma suggested, her heart beating faster in anticipation. “Like your place?”

Killian swallowed. "Are you sure?"

“I want this.” Emma told him truthfully. If she had made this offer way back when they first met, then it would’ve just been attraction and some friendship. She’d held herself back because she hadn’t wanted to potentially ruin that friendship. Now though, as much as it frightened her, Emma felt exhilarated at the idea of being this intimate with Killian. It felt right, because, to Emma’s surprise, she found that she really trusted him.

“I want this.” Emma reaffirmed softly. “Do you?”

“Yes.” Killian replies immediately.

Emma pulled him into another deep kiss, her heart now hammering because _this was happening_. After breaking off the kiss, Emma grabbed his hand and began to pull him in the direction of where she had parked her car. "Then let's go, sailor."

They walked faster than normal getting back to her car, though Emma remembered to drive at the speed limit. No need to ruin the night because she was a little too excited to get to his place. Once she parked her car by the library, they once again picked up the speed by hurrying into the library and into his apartment.

Killian closed the door of his apartment behind him, and the minute he turned back around Emma was on him. She mumbled a sorry as she pressed him against the door a little too hard. He mumbled back that it was fine, and he seemed too preoccupied getting his jacket off to mind.

“You got any protection here?” Emma asked as she pulled back to take off her jacket.

“Yeah.” Killian said as he tried to unbutton his shirt with one hand, but seemed to be having some trouble.

Emma helped him off, trying not to break off the buttons in the process. “You’re prepared for everything, huh?”

“Only after we started dating.” Killian told her as they got off the last button.

As he shrugged it off, Emma took the time to look at him. His chest hair down to his waistline, drawing her eyes up and down his torso. When Emma couldn't help but place her hands on his chest, she felt her chest constrict a little as she felt the firmness of his muscles.

“Like what you see?” Killian asked with a little smirk.

“Yep.” Emma said, leaning forward to kiss him. As they kissed, she felt his hand go to the hem of her shirt. Briefly breaking the kiss, Emma said, “My turn,” before she helped him out and pulled her shirt over her head, letting it fall forgotten to the floor. She went back into the kiss, and they both moaned as they felt their bodies, their skin, pressed against each other.

Killian pushed her towards the couch, and Emma sat herself on the armrest of the couch.

“Where’s the condom?” Emma asked.

“I’ll go get it.” Killian said before giving her a peck on the lips. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“Hurry up then.” Emma teased as he walked over to the nearby kitchen. He went to grab something from the top of the cabinet, and soon came back with the condom in his hand.

“Smart with kids around.” Emma commented.

Killian smiled as he asked, “Now, where were we?”

Emma got up from the armrest, and pulled him towards the couch by the belt. Once the back of his knees were facing the couch, Emma pushed him to sit down. Judging by the smile on his face, Killian liked it.

Emma bit her lip as she took off her bra, and let it fall to the floor.

Killian gave her a burning look, one that caused Emma to cover her breasts with her crossed arms.

“Okay.” She said with a self-conscious laugh. “Now you take something off.”

Killian maintained eye contact as he took off his belt.

“That doesn’t seem fair.” Emma said as she stepped closer to him, until she was standing between his opened legs. She made a point to show that her arms were still crossed over her chest. “You’re going to need to take off more.”

“Alright then.” Killian said as he undid the button and zipped of his pants. Emma swallowed a small lump in her throat, and felt herself throb as he took off his pants. He even took off his shoes and socks for good measure.

“You turn.” Killian told her.

Emma simply smiled in anticipation as she uncrossed her arms, and enjoyed watching the way his eyes wandered over her as she slowly took off her pants, socks, and shoes.

Once those were off, Emma sat on his lap, her legs on each side of him, and when they kissed again, her heart jumped at how much skin contact there was. Killian moaned into the kiss, which encouraged Emma to rub against him.

“Oh shit.” Killian said breathlessly, and Emma laughed a little. “Oh, so now you’re laughing at me?” Killian said with a pout.

Emma smiled. “Not at all.” She said softly.

His eyes practically glowed with desire as he placed the condom on the couch beside him. He then teasingly trailed his hands up her leg, from her knee to her thigh. His hand then trailed the line of her underwear, dipped down and-

“Oh fuck.” Emma instinctively keened as she felt Killian’s hands rubbed her through her underwear.

“You like this?” Killian asked almost breathlessly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Emma replied just as breathlessly. “Keep going.”

As Emma began to toy with the waistband of his underwear, Killian’s phone began to ring.

Both of them froze, their eyes immediately connecting.

Emma reluctantly said, “That might be important.”

“I should answer that.” Killian conceded as he took his hand away.

“Yeah, you should.” Emma said as she got off him, taking a seat next to him.

Killian got up and went over to where his jacket was discarded and answered the phone. “Hello?” Killian said as he went to sit back down next to Emma. “Mary Margaret, slow down. What happened?”

Emma straightened up, worried as she saw growing concern on Killian’s face.

“Wait, a fever?” Killian asked. “Okay, I’ll be there soon. Bye.” Killian then ended the call.

“What happened?” Emma asked as Killian began to quickly put on his pants.

“Mai’s sick.” Killian said as he began to zip up and button his pants.

“Oh crap.” Emma said worriedly, getting up to begin putting on her own clothes. “What happened?”

“Apparently she threw up an hour ago.” Killian said as he began to put on the rest of his clothes. “At first, Mary Margaret thought she just got bad food, but now she’s got a fever and she keeps shivering. I’m really sorry, but we’ll have to end this.”

“Hey, it’s no problem.” Emma assured him as she got on the rest of her clothes sans her jacket. She soon grabbed that and said, “I’ll drive.”

Once Killian was fully dressed, they headed straight over to the loft. However surprised they were to see that David was also there, that was put out of their minds because of Mai. The poor kid was sitting miserably on the couch, clutching a little garbage pail to her body.

“Daddy.” Mai said, nearly dropping the garbage pail had it not been for Phoebe’s quick thinking in catching it, and placing it on the floor. Mai stretched out her arms, and Killian soon caught her in a hug.

“I’m here, it’s okay.” Killian told her.

"Her fever isn't going down." Mary Margaret said with a concerned look on her. "You need to take her to the doctor."

“That’s what we’ll do.” Killian said. “Can someone get her coat?”

“I’ll get it.” Phoebe said, immediately jumping up to complete the task.

“You want me to keep Phoebe and Lady here?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Are you sure?” Killian asked, but before Mary Margaret could speak again, Phoebe interrupted.

“I’m going with them.” Phoebe immediately insisted as she brought Mai’s coat.

“You don’t have to.” Killian said as he helped Mai put on her coat. “Besides it’s a school night. You need your rest, not potentially staying up all night at the hospital.”

"But-" Phoebe started.

"No." Killian said firmly. Then added in a gentler tone, "I promise you, I won't let anything happen to her."

Phoebe looked around, but after seeing that she wouldn’t get support, she nodded silently before sitting next to Mai, who looked at her tiredly.

“It’s okay.” Phoebe said as she brushed hair away from Mai’s face. “Dad’s going to take you to the hospital, and a doctor’s going to make you feel better.”

Mai nodded silently.

“I’ll go to.” Emma said suddenly. When Killian and Phoebe looked at her in surprise, she added, “I’ve got a car. It’ll be faster than going on foot.”

Killian nodded at her gratefully before he picked up Mai. “I’ll call to let you know how it goes.” Killian told Mary Margaret. He then told Phoebe, “Remember, behave, and try to get some sleep.”

“No promises on the second one.” Phoebe said a little too seriously. She quickly got up, and then stood on her toes so she could give Mai a kiss on the forehead.

Killian and Emma began to walk out, and Lady tried to follow them.

“Stay here, girl.” Killian said to the pup as Emma opened the door just enough to let them out. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

Emma closed and locked the door behind them, and soon they were in her car.

“I don’t feel good.” Mai said as Killian put a seatbelt on her.

Emma, who was already seated behind the wheel, turned around to look at her with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine.” Emma told her. “The doctor will look you over and give you some medicine to feel better, okay?”

“Okay.” Mai said as Killian, having successfully put the seatbelt on her, shut the door. He then quickly got into the passenger’s side, and got his seatbelt on. With that, Emma immediately drove to the hospital.

It was...a little distressing that this was now the fourth time in a year Emma had gone to the hospital regarding someone she knew. Fifth if she counted David, though she hadn’t known him at the time. Once there, they were quickly directed to an examination room.

Or, Killian and Mai were.

“I’m sorry, next of kin only.” One of the nurses said.

“It’s alright, she’s with me.” Killian told them, Mai still in his arms.

“Are you sure?” The nurse asked.

“Well I said it, didn’t I?” Killian asked impatiently, though Emma knew that it wasn’t said out of anger so much as stress.

The nurse, despite being clearly incensed at his tone, allowed her through. They went into the examination room, and it felt like an eternity before the doctor finally got there. The doctor then spent the next several minutes doing a checkup, which included checking Mai’s temperature, her mouth and throat, her ears, and about half a dozen other things. As the doctor asked Killian questions, Mai reached over to hold onto Emma’s hand, and she didn’t have the heart to let go.

Finally, the doctor said with a sympathetic sigh, “She has the flu. That’s why she was throwing up, and why her fever spiked.”

“She felt fine before.” Killian told the doctor. Emma could see the subtle lines of stress on his face.

Emma looked down at Mai, and she was struck with sympathy when she saw the little girl had let go her her hand, was now holding onto Killian like her life depended on it.

“That’s the nature of the beast.” The doctor said as they grabbed a pad and began writing something down. “Patient appears fine, and little warning signs like as stomachache are innocuous enough, but then it seems to appear out of nowhere. Normally, if it was just the fever, I’d suggest taking her home and waiting twenty-four hours. However, because she’s not keeping fluids down, we’re going to need her to stay overnight to give her access to an IV.”

“An IV?” Killian asked, and Emma reached over to rub his back soothingly.

“It’s just to give her fluids.” The doctor then turned to give Mai a kind smile. “Alright sweetie, I’m just going to recommend some stuff to get so you feel better. And if you’re feeling a little better tomorrow, I’m also going to recommend that you stay home for school for about a week. Okay?”

“Okay.” Mai said quickly, cuddling into Killian’s side.

“I’ll be right back.” The doctor said before leaving the room.

Killian looked down at the poor girl in his arms with a worried look.

Emma walked over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "See, the doctor's are going to fix everything." She told Mai.

Mai nodded with a whimper.

Emma gently squeezed it back. “You did pretty good when he was checking up on you.”

“I did?” Mai asked her.

“Yeah.” Emma said. “You did really well.”

“See? You’ve got the Deputy’s approval.” Killian told Mai. “That means it’s true.”

Mai paused before nodding, seemingly taking it to heart. Killian looked at Emma thankfully.

Emma’s phone began to ring. She went to check the caller, and saw that it was Graham. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.” She told Killian as she went to another part of the room. She answered the phone with, “Hey Graham, what’s up?”

Graham got straight to the point. “Remember how you said we should follow Gold? Well, I took your suggestion and ran with it. I just saw Gold drive off in Moe French’s truck.”

“What’s suspicious about that?” Emma asked.

“Because I saw Gold put a gun in his coat.” Graham replied. “I checked, and Gold doesn’t have a permit for that weapon.”

A cold feeling settled in Emma’s stomach. “Did you happen to see Moe in the back of that truck?”

“No, but I am curious as to what Gold plans to use that gun for.” Graham said seriously. “I’d prefer back up on this one.”

“Okay. Send me your location.” Emma said, and after Graham told her, she said she’d meet him soon. Emma then hung up the phone.

“Important business then?” Killian asked as she turned to face him.

Emma sent him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but Graham needs some backup on this one.”

Killian shook his head understandingly. “It’s alright. I’ve got things here.”

Emma nodded before going over to kiss his cheek. She then bent down to look at Mai. “I hope you feel better.”

“Okay.” Mai mumbled. “Bye Emma.”

“Bye Mai.” Emma said, adding, “Bye Killian.”

“Go and save the day.” Killian said with a small smile.

Emma returned one of her own and left, her mind quickly going back to business. Emma didn’t know what Gold was up to, but it couldn’t be good. She just hoped that he didn’t have Moe or anyone else in the back of that truck.

* * *

Gold drove Moe French’s truck to a cabin out in the woods. It was further away from anyone who might hear any screaming, so it made the ideal place for Gold to avenge Belle’s death in pull. She had died a horrible death, and he would make her murdered pay.

After this was done, he’d regain what Moe had stolen from him. Perhaps if this went well, then Moe wouldn’t have to die after all. Some pain would be required, but death for him was an option. Perhaps Moe could rectify the crimes of Maurice by taking the fall for this.

At this point, Gold didn’t care. For the beastly man in the back, there was only one way out for him.

Gold arrived in front of the cabin, and parked the truck. He got out and shut the door behind him. He made his back to the back of the truck, and opened it up.

There stood the monster who was now called ‘Freddie’, hands duct taped behind his back, and tape on his mouth. Such a banal name for a vile creature. It hadn’t been easy to get him there. He was young and strong, but a well-placed attack with a cane to the back of the head knocked him out.

Thankfully, he was awake and alert now.

Gold reached into his coat and pulled out a gun, and pointed it at the beast. “Walk!” He ordered.

With some difficulty, ‘Freddie’ got up and out of the truck, nearly stumbling to the ground since his hands were behind his back, denying him balance.

With a nod, Gold forced the creature to walk towards the cabin. Gold opened the door, keeping his gun trained on him at all times, and forcing the thing to enter.

When the thing turned to face him, Gold made sure to keep some distance between them. “Here’s the thing.” Gold told him, trying to keep his rage under check, shutting the door behind them. “You may not remember me, but I remember what you did to her.”

The creature looked confused.

“I don’t let people cross me for a reason.” Gold said. “I remember everything, and that’s why you are not leaving this cabin.”

The theft of Belle’s tea cup had reopened old wounds. At first, Gold contemplated just going after Moe, killing him for this final offense. However, the more he thought about it, the more the loss of the chipped tea cup reminded him of Belle and her murderer.

The animal before him was the reason he lost Belle, the reason why…

Gold cleared his throat, feeling satisfied at the creature’s frightened eyes.

One thing was for certain. ‘Freddie’ would die for the crimes of Androcles.

* * *

_Rumpelstiltskin was far from a stupid man, and since becoming the Dark One, he was no longer a weak one. He’d had hundreds of years to refine his skills, to strengthen his deals with the knowledge. He practically had the world at his fingertips, though he reminded him that he was doing all of this to be reunited with Baelfire._

_And yet, he was distracted. Like he said, he was far from a stupid man, which is how he noticed the way Androcles had been looking at Belle._

She is nothing to me _, Rumplestiltskin tried to tell him._ She is just the help.

_Still, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. She...she was interesting to say the least. She could actually hold a conversation with him. She didn’t approve of everything he did, but she...strangely enough, she made him happy._

_Now that...that man was looking at her. Rumplestiltskin hated to admit it, but his black heart clenched, because he knew that Belle was looking at Androcles the same way._

_For the first time in a long while, Milah came to mind. Milah and that...that pirate. Even though, Rumplestiltskin felt nothing but contempt for the pirate for stealing his wife, for depriving Milah of his mother. He remembered the rage he felt when Milah claimed that she never loved him, the way her heart turned to dust in his mind._

It’s happening again, _a voice in his mind said._ Do what needs to be done.

_Watching the magic mirror, witnessing Belle and Androcles hold hands and looking at each other softly, Rumplestiltskin wanted to hurt Androcles. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt Belle. Why deprive himself of such a mind?_

_However, if he killed Androcles, then Belle would never be his. She would forever see him as a monster. Even if he made it look like someone else killed him, or if he made it look like natural causes, Belle...she would know somehow. She would simply know._

_Rumplestiltskin couldn’t lose that, but he wasn’t about to lose to a younger man again._

_What if...what if Belle simply lost interest? The thought was intriguing, but had their own problems. After all, Belle spent more and more time with Androcles, as they were the only people besides Rumplestiltskin in the castle. Even with that tamed lioness there, there weren’t exactly a lot of options for Belle._

_That’s when a thought occurred to Rumplestiltskin. What if...what if Belle had more options? What if Rumplestiltskin could show that Androcles was an inferior option. That way, Belle would tired of him._

_A thought forming in Rumplestiltskin’s mind, he smiled._

_With a wave of his hand, smoke appeared around Rumplestiltskin before it dissipated, and he found himself in the same room as Belle and Androcles. The two of them were startled and looked at him warily, Androcles touching the lioness to calm her._

_How had he not foreseen what a problem he would be? This gift he received from the Seer certainly had its limitations. All he had seen was that he would bargain for the man and the lion, that this was the course to take, and yet he hadn’t foreseen this little complication._

_Something Rumplestiltskin was determined to rectify._

_Putting on a deliberately cheery voice, Rumplestiltskin said, “It has come to my attention that you two aren’t satisfied with the terms of your employment. In fact, I find you two are quite...distracted. I believe it’s time to correct that.”_

_“Rumple-” Belle started, but Rumplestiltskin wouldn’t let her finish._

_“That is why I have come to a decision.” Rumplestiltskin said with a wave of his hand. “You two...shall leave.”_

_Both of them looked surprised._

_“I’m...sorry?” Androcles asked, hope visibly rising inside him._

Just wait, _Rumplestiltskin thought darkly. “Why yes.” Rumplestiltskin told them. “Since I’ve heard how disagreeable you find this place, I am allowing you two to simply leave.”_

_Belle looked at him with both confusion and a touch of softness. “You’re...truly letting us go?” She asked him._

_Rumplestiltskin couldn’t quite keep up the act with her. “Yes.” Rumplestiltskin said before straightening his back. “Of course, I will be taking something for my troubles.” With a wave of his hand, the lioness disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Rumplestiltskin knew she was placed in the cage with the other creatures he had collected._

_“Art!” Androcles called out, looking around for his lost lioness. The fool looked at him with anger, and brazely began advancing on him until Belle held him back._

_“Androcles, stop.” Belle told him._

_“Where is she?” Androcles ordered._

_“She stays. You go.” Rumplestiltskin said, and now Belle looked at him with betrayal. Before either could say anything anything, Rumplestiltskin waved his hand again. “Goodbye.”_

_Belle and Androcles disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Rumplestiltskin returned to his magic mirror. Looking into it, Rumplestiltskin saw Androcles futilely attempting to cross back over the boundaries of his land. Thanks to a spell Rumplestiltskin had put there since Belle’s idiotic fiance decided to challenge him._

_“Rumplestiltskin!” Androcles shouted, pounding his fist against the magical boundary. “Let us back in! Please! Let Art come with us! Art!”_

_“Androcles!” Belle shouted, placing a hand on his shoulder, and turning him until he faced her. “Androcles.” She added softly. “We’ll get Art back.”_

_“I can’t-” Androcles stopped himself, a pained look on his face. “She looks tough, but she gets scared when I’m not with her. She’s already been hurt enough. What is he going to do to her?”_

_“I don’t know.” Belle said, cupping his face in her hands. “And I don’t know why he let us go, but we’ll figure something out. Perhaps my father could help.”_

_Androcles looked unconvinced. “Your father could turn me over to Midas.”_

_“He won’t.” Belle told him seriously. “I won’t let anyone touch you.”_

_Androcles looked at her hopefully, his eyes softening. “You promise?”_

_Belle nodded with a smile. “I promise.”_

Now’s the perfect time to fulfill that promise, _Rumplestiltskin thought darkly._ Just now in the way you thought.

_Rumplestiltskin concentrated some magic in his hand, whispering incantations until the spell was ready. Then, when the time was ripe, Rumplestiltskin held his hand out, and the spell shout out of the window and headed straight towards Androcles. Because they were too focused on each other, neither Belle nor Androcles noticed the spell until it was too late._

_Androcles cried out, first in shock, then in pain._

_“Androcles, what is it?” Belle asked fearfully._

_“I don’t-” Androcles started, then fell to the ground in pain, his fingers digging into the earth. Then, those same fingers became longer, harder, and sharper, his fingernails slowly becoming claws._

_“Oh gods.” Belle gasped, looking fearful for Androcles._

_“Stay back!” Androcles shouted before another wave of pain overcame him. His shoulders became painfully wider, his back arching as his clothes began ripping. He let out another cry of pain, and Belle’s eyes widened in shock when it came out as a mix between a human cry and the roar of a beast. His mouth opened, and his human teeth became fangs. He stood up with a wobble, his skin slowly being covered with fur, until there was no visible skin left. His human nose became more akin to a snout, and by the time it was all over, Androcles the man had become Androcles the beast._

_“Androcles.” Belle whispered in horror, though not of him, to Rumplestiltskin’s disappointment. She sounded scared_ for _him._

_Androcles looked at his hands, which were now more akin to paws, and his eyes widened. “What’s happened to me?” Androcles asked, seemingly not aware of Belle’s speaking. His voice was now deeper, distorted between a human voice and an animal’s growl. “What’s happened to me?!”_

_Even as Belle tried to assure him it would be alright, Rumplestiltskin knew it would never be. This was the beginning of the end. They could not travel together without turning heads. Soldiers and knights from every kingdom would want to hunt down the creature for the glory of capturing or killing it. Belle could never hope for marriage or children with this thing, and she would eventually grow tired of him._

_No matter what infatuation Belle held for the man, she couldn’t hope to gain anything from the beast._

* * *

About halfway into their roaming around, Ashley got a call saying that Alexandra was acting up. The call was just to let her know what was going on, and that Ashley didn’t need to come back, but Ashley took it as a sign for her to go home. After Ashley was gone, Dada realized the time, and saw that it was getting pretty late.

“We’ve still got a whole night to kill.” Ruby told her.

“I have work tomorrow.” Dada pointed out, then guiltily added, “I’m really sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Ruby said. “I’ll walk you back.”

“It’s fine.” Dada said. “Besides, it’s not far from here.”

“You sure?” Ruby asked concernedly.

“I’m sure.” Dada told her.

Ruby then pulled her into a hug. “Just be safe.” Ruby told her.

“I will.” Dada promised. After releasing Ruby from the hug, Dada said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Ruby replied. “Seriously be safe.”

“I will.” Dada said, and she began to walk home, and she saw Ruby do the same.

It was when she was nearly there that Dada realized something was missing.

“Oh, shit. Shit, shit, _shit_ .” Dada swore in rising panic as she realized that the key to her place was gone. Dada walked back the way she came, and her breathing started becoming erratic as she realized that she hadn’t dropped them recently. Did someone take it? Did she drop it and now she’d never see it again? Oh god she was so stupid. “Fuck! Okay.” Dada suddenly said, stopping herself and remembering to breathe. “Think for a second. Maybe someone found it. Okay, where have you been...the bar. Yeah, the bar. It could be there.” Dada began walking in the direction of the bar, muttering under her breath, “ _Please_ be there.”

Dada was nearly out of breath by the time she got to the bar, though she did manage a sigh of relief when the bartender showed the key to her apartment.

“Oh thank god.” Dada laughed shakily as her key was back in her hand.

“Try not losing it next time.” The bartender said not unkindly, though it made Dada feel self-conscious nonetheless.

Dada nodded silently, clutching the key in her hand, and left the bar. She didn’t make it far before she heard someone behind her.

“Dada? That you?” Someone asked behind her, slurring their words.

Dada turned around, and found that August was standing there. He was leaning against the doorframe of the bar, and he stumbled out. More to the point, he was clearly drunk.’

“Yeah, it’s me, August.” Dada said, looking at him in worry. “Are you okay?”

“I’m f-” August stopped as he nearly stumbled again. He then gave her a grin. “I’m fine. Just a liiiiiittle tipsy.”

Dada paused before asking, “You need me to get you home?” She didn’t feel good with the idea of August getting himself back to Granny’s Inn. What if in getting there he walked straight into traffic, or someone mugged him?

“Home?” August asked confusedly, leaning against the outside wall of the bar. “This isn’t home. My home’s...I can’t go home yet.”

“Why not?” Dada asked him gently.

From her interactions with August, Dada typically saw a level of confidence that could be both endearing and a touch disconcerting. He was also pretty tight-lipped about where he came from, if not his travels. Right now, August couldn’t seem to muster up any confidence, and just seemed...ashamed.

August shook his head. “I’m not doing enough. I still can’t figure out how to help her break it.”

“Help who break what?” Dada asked.

August was silent, and he began sliding down the wall.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Dada said as she went forward to help him stay upright, and she ended up having to wrap her arms around him and try to lift him up.

“You’re seriously strong.” August said as Dada was able to keep him upright, and then she maneuvered them so that one of his arms was wrapped around her shoulder.

“Only when I have to be.” Dada replied. “Come on, let’s get walking.”

August slowly did so, and then strangely asked, “I wonder who you are.”

“Oh boy, you must’ve have more to drink than I thought.” Dada told him as they began walking in the direction of the inn.

“I totally screwed up her life.” August blurted out remorsefully. “Papa would be so ashamed of me.”

Dada looked at him sympathetically before returning her attention to their route. “Did you and your dad have a fight?”

“He told me to take care of her.” August said. “I tried but I got scared. I was little, what was I supposed to do?”

 _Who is he talking about_ , Dada wondered. “Who’re you talking about?” Dada asked him.

August pulled away from her just in time to throw up in a bush.

“Nevermind then.” Dada said.

“Sorry.” August moaned.

“It’s fine.” She said as she awkwardly patted his back. “Just let it out.”

August then threw up again.

A few minutes later, August seemed done throwing up, and they started walking again, though August tried to walk on his own. Dada was grateful for that, because his breath smelled pretty bad. It wasn’t totally his fault, but still.

“Hey, are we friends?” August asked suddenly.

“Um...I don’t know, maybe.” Dada offered up. “I mean we don’t exactly hang out a lot.”

“Sorry about that.” August said. “You’re really nice.”

“I’m not that nice.” Dada tried to tell him. “Just trying to help out however I can.”

“Selfless.” August said, though as Dada looked at him, he seemed to be saying it less to her, and more like he was answering something in his mind. “Not me. I’m a selfish bastard.”

“Hey, you’re not that bad.” Dada tried to joke, but August didn’t respond. She then asked, “Is it about her?”

“Yeah.” August said, and Dada caught him as he nearly stumbled.

“You know where she is?” Dada asked. When August nodded, she said, “Then maybe there’s still time to make it up to her.”

“I can’t.” August told her. “I’m a coward.”

Dada sighed. “If you’re sober enough to remember this tomorrow, then try to remember that...if she’s still around, it’s not too late. You’ll never know unless you try.”

August didn’t verbally respond, but from the way he looked at her, Dada thought that maybe he understood.

She just hoped that he would remember this tomorrow.

* * *

‘Freddie’ tried to suppress a cry of pain as Gold ripped the tape from his mouth. He was seated on the ground, his back against a chair, and before he could speak, the tip of Gold’s cane was against his throat.

Gold sneered at the man before him. “I want you to know something.” Gold said, pressing the cane deeper into the man’s throat. “You deserve every bit of this."

Gold pressed a bit further before taking the cane again.

‘Freddie’ gasped and coughed as he tried to regain his breath. “Wha-” The man started but ended up coughing. “What is this? Why?”

“I have had a very bad day.” Gold told him. “I had something I treasure taken from me, and it just reminded me of what I lost. Of what you took from me.” Gold shuddered as he said, “You took her from me.”

“Who?” ‘Freddie’ asked.

Gold shook his head, a sneer forming on his face even as he felt a lump in his throat. “She was more precious to me than you could ever know. You had her love, and you hurt her!” Gold raised the cane up and brought it down as hard as he could against the man’s head.

The man moved at the last second, and the cane came down on his shoulder, bringing out a cry of pain.

“It’s _your_ fault!” Gold shouted, bringing down his cane again and again and again. “Not mine! You’re the reason she’s gone! She’s never coming back, and it’s because of you!”

The man tried to move out of the way of his blows, but Gold following him, bringing his cane down on his shoulders, back, legs, and arms, not wanting to hit his head just yet. He wanted this to last. This beast ripped Belle to shreds, and for that he had to-

Gold felt something sharp against his ankle. He halted his assaulted as he quickly looked down, and found a dirty, yellow kitten biting and scratching his ankle. He tried to shake it off, but she held on. He distantly wondered with dark humor if this was the form the monster’s lion had taken in this life.

Before he could knock the kitten off with his cane, he was pushed to the ground. He found that ‘Freddie’ had used the distraction to rush Gold, body checking them to the ground. Gold had lost his cane in the chaos, and tried to push the man off. Freddie squirmed around and bit one of Gold’s hands.

“Get off, you beast!” Gold growled, trying to get away from him. He managed to reach out far enough to reclaim his cane, and slammed the end of it against the man’s forehead.

“Ah!” The man cried out as he rolled away, trying to create distance between him and Gold. He then leaned back and sent a powerful kick against Gold’s weak leg, sending Gold to the ground.

“Stop!” Emma’s voice permeated the air, soon followed by the Sheriff shouting, “Hands in the air!”

Gold looked up, and found Emma and the Sheriff pointing guns at them. Well, at him, as Emma quickly took note of ‘Freddie’s’ bound form on the ground, and went to attend to him.

He felt a surge of anger. They were interfering with his revenge. They were stopping him from avenging Belle.

“Mr. Gold, turn around with your hands on your head.” The Sheriff told him in a serious tone.

“You can’t be serious.” Gold said incredulously, watching Emma try to undo the restraints on the monster’s wrists. The little ball of bur went to ‘Freddie’, and when she looked at him, she hissed.

“Now, Gold!” The Sheriff shouted, and Gold knew he wasn’t about to get a third warning.

He did as directed, and soon he was handcuffed and had his rights read to him as Emma undid the beast’s restraints. An ambulance arrived as Gold was being placed in the back of the Sheriff’s car, and the beast left the cabin on a gurney, unfortunately alive.

“Wait, wait!” ‘Freddie’ shouted, and the confused EMTs stopped. He groaned in pain as he reached over the side of the gurney, and Gold saw the kitten jump up to hold onto his outstretched arms. He couldn’t hear what the EMTs were saying, though it was clear that they didn’t want the cat to come along. After some protest, and likely working under a time constraint, simply loaded him into the ambulance, and drove away.

The Sheriff and Emma came back around to talk to Gold.

“Now, you’ve understood your rights as I’ve read them to you.” The Sheriff said. “However, is there anything you’d like to say?”

Gold wisely held his tongue. The charges, if any were to be filed, would never stand up. He’d be out of a cell before any of them realized it.

“What the hell was that, Gold?” Emma asked angrily. “Why did you attack him?”

Gold still said nothing.

“Unbelievable.” Emma scoffed. “You know, I knew you’re capable of being a real piece of shit, but I never thought you’d just attack an innocent person at random.”

Gold glared at her, wanting to prove to her that ‘Freddie’ wasn’t as innocent as his persona made him out to be. Ah, but she still didn’t believe in the curse. There’d be no point in telling her the truth if she wouldn’t believe it. It didn’t help that she was in some way friends with the monster.

“Emma, can you secure the scene before talking to Freddie?” Graham asked. “I’ll take care of Gold.”

Emma agreed, and soon they went their separate ways. Emma to the beast, and Graham to the Sheriff’s Station.

Gold said nothing the whole way there. He didn’t need to. He’d been too reckless, too consumed with the idea of finally ridding the realms of Belle’s murdered. Next time he’d do some more careful planning, but for now he needed to beat these charges.

 _I promise Belle_ , Gold thought to himself. _He will pay for what he did._

* * *

_What did you think? Did you think that Henry actually cares about you? He can do better than a bad kid with no future._

Two weeks later, and that bitch’s words still played over in his head, and Declan stared up at the ceiling. LJ’s uncle had already picked him up a while ago, but Graham couldn’t get there yet. Nancy hadn’t said what Graham called her about, only that it was police related. Nancy had been nice enough to roll out a sleeping bag and let him sleep in Fernando’s room.

 _Maybe she’s just buying time for Graham,_ some dark part of Declan’s mind theorized. _Maybe it isn’t police related at all, and the truth is that Graham’s finally gotten tired of you._

Declan tried not to flinch, and when he tried to push that thought out of his mind, it instead went to when he was stuck in that closet. Everything was fine until she banged on the door after Declan starting cursing at her. Declan tried to keep his breathing steady as he remembered being in that dark, empty closet.

 _Put the dumbass in the trunk._ He remembered his mother’s voice, ordering his brothers to stuff him in the trunk. He couldn’t be sure, but he just knew that his mom was the one that dragged the trunk outside to the backyard. When Declan had demanded to be let out, his mom had banged on the box, and left him outside in that trunk for hours. Feeling the cold creep up on him, trying hard to hold it in but peeing himself in the process.

It was only after his parents were both passed out drunk that Gavin had finally plucked up the courage to come out and get him out.

Declan knew that his parents would’ve beaten them if they didn’t do it, but a part of Declan never fully forgave Gavin or Oscar for that.

It was his own fault. He’s the one who snuck out. He...he’s the one who…

“Dec?” Fernando asked sleepily. Declan looked over, and saw Fernando was sitting up in bed, looking at him in the dark. “Why are you sad?”

“I’m not-” Declan cleared his throat when he heard how weak his voice was. He also realized that there were tears streaming down his face, and that he might have been audibly crying. “I’m not sad.” He said tearily. “Go back to sleep.”

 _Fucking damn it,_ Declan thought, hating how even his thoughts sounded sad.

Fernando got out of bed, and Declan wiped at his eyes as he held onto his egg. Fernando sat next to Declan, who was still laying on the floor, and Declan saw that Fernando was holding a plush fox toy. Fernando then nearly smacked Declan in the face with that toy.

“What are you doing?” Declan asked irritatingly.

“It’s Rob.” Fernando said. “He makes me happy. Can he make you happy?”

Declan shook his head. “I’m okay.”

Declan didn’t even move as Fernando placed the fox on his face.

“I’m good.” Declan said muffled, though his breath hitched because he’s dumb. Jesus, a 3-year-old has to comfort him. “I’m so dumb.”

“No.” Fernando said as Declan sat up, and Declan placed Rob back in Fernando’s lap.

Declan wiped his eyes. “Yeah, I am.” Declan said quietly, trying not to alert Nancy. “I’m just a big a dummy.”

“Mm.” Fernando whimpered, obviously becoming upset at Declan’s tears.

“No, no, hey, don’t cry.” Declan said. When Fernando’s lip wobbled, Declan forced himself to smile. “Hey, look, not sad anymore.”

“No?” Fernando asked.

“No.” Declan said with a shake of his head. He then got out of his sleeping bag, and picked up Fernando before placing him on the bed. “Now go to sleep.”

Fernando just climbed out of bed.

“Okay then.” Declan said before once again picking up Fernando. The little boy rested his hand on Declan’s shoulder, and Declan began rocking him back and forth. “Sleep, sleep, sleep.”

“Story.” Fernando said sleepily.

Declan nodded before putting Fernando in bed. Tucking him in, Declan asked, “Um...what story?”

“Hobbit.” Fernando said sleepily.

 _Ah crap_ , Declan thought as he realized he left the book at home. _Guess I’ll have to do this from memory_. “Um, okay...a long time ago, in a realm called Middle Earth, there was a place called the Shire…”

It took maybe five minutes before Fernando fell asleep again. On impulse, Declan kissed him on the forehead, and then reeled back thinking, _The fuck? When did that become a thing?_

Declan placed Rob back with Fernando before awkwardly returning to his sleeping bag with his egg in hand, wondering just what the hell happened. Yeah, he liked the kid, but the kiss on the forehead? Where had that come from? Sure, he knew other people whose parents did that, but his parents never did. Declan wasn’t even sure his brothers did that for him.

 _Did they ever love me?_ , Declan asked. _Has anyone ever loved me?_

Sure, his friends and Graham cared, but love? Was that even possible for someone like him?

 _He can do better than a bad kid with no future,_ Regina had said. _Say anything, and I promise you will spend the rest of your life in a place like this, and Graham will be better off._

 _What’re you going to do, call the cops?_ , Declan’s dad had asked him when Declan finally got back into the house. _It’s not like anyone will care. You’ll just end up in foster care where absolutely no one will give a collective shit._

Declan swallowed a hard lump in his throat. He knew that Regina was bad, and he’d taken her words to heart. It was the same reason he never told anyone what his parents were like when they were still around. They’d find a way to get him and kick his ass.

He could keep a secret. That’s what he was good at. Maybe it was the only thing he was good at.

* * *

_You’re the reason she’s gone!_ , Gold’s shout reverberated throughout Freddie’s mind.

What had he been talking about? Who was this ‘she’ he kept talking about?

It was too confusing. He had never done anything to Gold.

_She’s never coming back, and it’s because of you!_

The way he’d said it, the way he’d looked at Freddie...Freddie knew that if Emma and Graham hadn’t gotten there at that time, he likely wouldn’t have left that cabin alive.

“Excuse me.” A nurse said, and when Freddie turned he found that kitten from the cabin in her arms. “I think this belongs to you.”

“Actually-” Freddie started to deny that he owned the cat, but given how the kitten pretty much helped save his life, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. “Thanks, but doesn’t this violate some sort of regulation?”

“Probably, but this is the third time she’s managed to sneak back in, and we’re all too tired to stop her tonight.” The nurse said as she brought the kitten into the room, and placed it on Freddie’s bad. The kitten then proceeded to climb on Freddie’s lap, allowing Freddie to pet her.

The kitten immediately snuggled up to him, and the nurse left to attend to another patient.

“Thanks for saving me.” Freddie told the kitten as he scratched her under the chin. “You really helped me out back there. You’re a good girl.”

Freddie then picked up the kitchen, and double-checked to make sure it was a girl. “Yes, you are good girl.”

Freddie put the kitten down, this time resting her on his chest.

The kitten yawned.

Freddie chuckled. “Yeah, it’s been a long day.” Freddie paused before saying, “You’ll be adopted in no time. You’ll have a nice family.”

Freddie could’ve sworn that the kitten glared at him.

Since he had no one else to talk to right now, Freddie asked, “What? You think I should take you?”

The kitten rested her head against his chest.

Freddie smiled a little. “Well, I don’t know about that. I mean I’ve kind of taken care of animals before, but always for someone else.” Freddie rested his head, looking up at the ceiling as he said, “If I _were_ to take you, I’d have to come up with a name.”

The kitten meowed almost impatiently.

“Don’t take that tone with me, missy.” Freddie told her, and then it struck him. “Hmm...how about Missy? You think that’s a good name?”

Looking back down, he found the kitten was fast asleep.

“Alright, I’ll follow you’re lead.” Freddie said, feeling exhaustion seep into every bit of his body. As he closed his eyes, he sleepily said, “Goodnight, Missy.”

Freddie then finally, peacefully drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Mai woke up in a fit, and Killian, who had been half-asleep, immediately awoke.

“Daddy?” Mai asked as she laid in her hospital bed, a colorful thing in a hospital room with cute little drawings.

“I’m right here.” Killian said as he gently squeezed her hand in his.

“Phoebe?” Mai called out quietly.

“She’s at Mary Margaret’s place with Lady.” Killian said. They had come by after Mai fell asleep the first time. Killian had given Mary Margaret the keys to his place to get some overnight things for Phoebe and Lady, and Phoebe had been remiss to leave. She had required repeated assurances that Mai would be alright before she would leave.

“Sick.” Mai said.

“I know, sweetheart.” Killian said, letting go her her hand to brush some hair out of his fight.

“Sleepy.” Mai added. “Can’t sleep.”

“I’m sorry.” Killian said sympathetically. He waited a bit for Mai to fall asleep, but she seemed to have trouble settling down.

“Daddy, I can’t sleep.” Mai moaned.

Killian tried to think of something, but what could settle her down? What got him to settle down as a child? He didn’t usually get sick, but one time his mother...wait. That’s it. “Would you like a little song?”

“A song?” Mai asked.

“Mhmm.” Killian told her. “My mum used to sing it to me when I was little, like her mum sang it to her.”

“Mum? Mai repeated curiously. “Grandmum?”

Killian didn’t answer that, unsure about how to explain the logistics of this, and instead asked, “Would you like me to sing?”

“Okay.” Mai breathed out, clearly trying to calm down and sleep, but frustrated that she couldn’t.

Killian gently cleared his throat, his thumb gently brushed away hair from Mai’s forehead on its own. Killian tried remembering the words and the tune of the lullaby his mother used to sing him. For a moment, he was afraid that it was lost to him, and his mind became distant. However, for once, it seemed like this led his mind to the right place.

Killian opened his mouth and softly sang, “ _I see the moon, the moon sees me. Shining through the leaves of the old oak tree. Oh, let the light that shines on me, shine on the one I love.”_ As he continued singing, he remembered being a young boy, lying in bed as he mother gently ran her thumb over his forehead, how he had focused on that and the song to get him to sleep. He remembered the way his bed rocked, as the ship swayed from side to side.

 _Wait, ship?_ , Killian thought to himself, abruptly stopping. The memory became fleeting, and as he looked over at Mai, it all but disappeared. To his profound relief, he found that she was fast asleep, her little chest gently going up and down.

Killian sighed in thanks before leaning over to kiss her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

Killian then sat back in the chair beside Mai’s bed, ready to stand vigil once more.

* * *

  _February 15, 2012_

Jefferson waited in the lobby of Dada’s building, wanting to surprise her with breakfast today. He had felt bad about not going out with her yesterday. He had really tried to make it, but it just became too overwhelming. He’d felt so embarrassed over the whole thing, and he didn’t really protest when Dada told him that she’d be fine, that he should just go home.

Once he actually got home, he felt a deep sense of guilt. Both because he couldn’t be with Dada yesterday, and because a part of him was relieved that he had an excuse to go.

The person Dada really was weighed heavily on his mind. He knew that it was selfish of him to accept it, but he couldn’t help it. Still, the more time passed, the more he felt scared that he was truly going to mess this up. He knew that he cared about her, a lot, but he still didn’t have the assurance he needed that he wasn’t taking things too far.

Maybe he should just...go back to the days where he stayed in his house, watching everyone from afar. Dada would be hurt, but it’d be for the best, right?

Last night, Jefferson had taken a few looks at the town with his telescope. He’d seen Grace with her cursed parents, and his heart ached at how his little girl was growing up every day. Jefferson had to step away for several minutes after his chest started constricting painfully, from how it felt like something inside of him was ripping open because his daughter was out of his reach.

When Jefferson had finally managed to calm down, he set his telescope to another part of town, hoping to take his mind off of things. He had eventually found Dada walking a clearly drunk August home. Feeling awkward about watching her from afar, he’d only continued doing so since he didn’t know what a drunk August would do.

Once Dada had gotten home, Jefferson had ended his watch for the night.

 _Because_ that’s _not creepy at all,_ Jefferson thought. He didn’t use to be like this. He remembered a time when talking to people was second nature to him, especially if he needed to charm them for something he needed. While Jefferson was glad that that part of him was gone, he wondered, not for the first time, just what kind of person he ended up becoming.

“Jefferson?” Dada’s voice caused him to look up, and at the bottom of the stairs Dada stood there. She smiled at him as she stepped forward. “Hi.”

She then leaned up to give him a peck on the lips, which Jefferson accepted with some amount of guilt.’’

Dada leaned back with a smile, but then seemed to notice his awkwardness. “Something wrong?”

Jefferson smiled and shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Dada arched an eyebrow before her features softened. “Is it about what happened yesterday?”

Jefferson told her, “No.”

“It’s okay if it is.” Dada insisted. “Really, I get it. You can’t handle a bunch of people at once.” She then reached over to hold his hand in hers. “It was nice that you tried, but you shouldn’t push yourself.”

Jefferson squeezed her hand, wanting to tell her the truth about the situation, but he knew that doing so would only result in his stay in the asylum. Instead, he told her another truth. “I just want you to be happy.”

“You make me happy.” Dada told him sincerely. “And it also makes me happy knowing you’re comfortable.”

 _How comfortable can I be knowing the truth when you don't?,_ Jefferson asked himself. “You don't have to worry about me.” He told her.

“And you don’t have to worry about me, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.” Dada smirked at him. She then cupped his face in his hands, and he couldn’t help but lean into them. “I know something’s bothering you, and you don’t have to tell me right now, but I’m here if you need.”

A smile briefly flitted over his face at her kindness before he took her hands in his. Without thinking, he pressed them to his lips, and saw her smile shyly.

Jefferson knew that Dada had feelings for him, just like he had feelings for her. If who she was truly didn’t care about him, then he would respect her wishes and leave. If she did, then…

He stopped himself before he could hope for too much. He needed a sign first, something to point to the truth. Jefferson was indeed a selfish man, but sooner or later, he’d have to make a choice that could potentially leave them both heartbroken.

* * *

Freddie opened his eyes, and immediately realized that there was something meowing next to him. Wincing in pain from his wounds, Freddie managed to move enough to see that the kitten was there, looking up at him and meowing impatiently.

“What are you doing?” He asked Missy, wondering how no one had spotted her yet.  

Missy tried to stand on its hind legs in an attempt to reach Freddie.

Freddie, who was already sick of being in bed, climbed off and soon Missy was climbing up his legs.

“Ow, ow, easy.” Freddie said as he felt Missy sink her claws into him. However, when Freddie reached down to grab her, she hopped off, and began to run. “Hey, wait.”

Freddie followed her, and to his curiosity, everytime Missy nearly got too far, he found her waiting for him to catch up. Whenever he nearly did, she would once again speed off. She certainly had an idea of where she was going.

Eventually, Missy finally stopped in front of a door that had a red sign with the word in white letters on it. Next to the door was a keypad on it, and it looked like you’d have to insert a numbered code.

Freddie tried to open the door, but it was locked.

“Whoa whoa, hey.” A security guard came over, her brows furrowed as she looked at him. She had a name tag, but he couldn’t tell what it said.

“I’m just trying to get in.” Freddie said.

“More like get out.” The woman said. “This is an exit door.”

“It is?” Freddie asked, looking back at the door, but of course he couldn’t tell what it said. “Wait, if this is an exit, why is there a keypad? What if there’s an emergency and no one knows the code?”

It looked like the thought had never occurred to the woman. She then called out to the person at the front desk.

“Yeah, Wen?” The bored desk secretary asked.

“Where does this door lead?” Wen asked.

“Probably an exit.” The secretary said without looking up.

Wen rolled her eyes before looking at Freddie. “You should go back to your room.” Looking down at the kitten, Wen sighed. “I swear, this one cat is becoming the bane of my existence.”

“Sorry.” Freddie said with a nervous smile.

“It’s yours?” Wen asked.

“Uh, yes.” Freddie told her, wincing as he bent down and picked Missy up. “I just got her.”

“Well, call someone to look after her.” Wen said not unkindly. “We have patients here that might be allergic to cats.”

“I understand.” Freddie said, hesitating before asking, “Do you have a quarter? I want to call a friend.”

Wen forked over the quarters needed for Freddie to use a nearby payphone, and after getting help from Wen looking through the phone back, Freddie made his call.

“Hello?” David greeted.

“Hey David, it’s me.” Freddie said, holding the phone in one hand and Missy in the other.

“Hey Freddie.” David greeted. “I didn’t recognize the number. Then again, I don’t think you’ve ever called me.”

“That’s because I’m at the hospital.” Freddie said, and then winced at the volume of David’s voice.

“What?!” David shouted before bringing his voice down to normal. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’ll explain more in person.” Freddie said as he held onto Missy. “Listen, I need to ask you for a pretty big favor.”

“Anything.” David said immediately, and Freddie thought he heard the sounds of David frantically getting ready in the background.

“I’m probably not going to leave this hospital anytime soon.” Freddie told him. “So I’m going to need you to take care of some things for me.”

“Of course.” David said. “We’ll talk more when I get there. See you soon.”

“See you.” Freddie said, and he hung up the phone. Freddie then began walking to his hospital room. “It’ll be alright Missy.” Freddie told the kitten, who curled closer to him. “I’ll heal up, and when I’m out of here, we’ll be together. I promise.”

* * *

Gold had finally shown his hand. No one else had realized it, but Regina did. She knew that the only reason why Gold would attack the pet shelter janitor seemingly at random was if he remembered. After all, they never interacted in this life, so this so-called random attack was anything but.

Regina needed to talk to Gold in private, and since he was sitting in a cell, she brought along just the thing to distract Ms. Swan. She just had to find a way to get Graham out of the way.

Luckily for her, upon entering the bullpen of the Sheriff’s Station with Henry, she found that Graham’s office was empty. Good, she just needed him to stay away just long enough to get some answers.

Henry was practically vibrating with excitement at being allowed to spend some time with that woman. For now, Regina would let that go.

“Deputy Swan.” Regina called out.

“Regina?” The woman asked confusedly before spotting Henry, a smile immediately appearing on her face. “Henry.”

“Emma!” Henry called out, rushing over to give her a hug, which she returned.

Regina suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She had to do something, and she wasn’t about to let this go to waste. “I'm letting you have thirty minutes with Henry. Take him out, buy him ice cream.” Regina told her.

Emma stood up, still keeping an arm around Henry’s shoulders as Regina’s son held onto her. “You want me to leave you alone with a prisoner?” She asked suspiciously.

Regina set her eyes on Gold as she responded, “Twenty-nine and a half minutes.”

“Bring me back a cone.” Gold said blithely.

Emma didn’t like it, but Regina didn’t care if she did.

Regardless, Emma grabbed her coat and grabbed Henry’s hand. “Come on, let's go!”

“Yeah!” Henry smiled, and the two were out the door.

“So you’ve finally grown a conscience.” Gold said in a bored tone. “Decided to let the boy see his mother.”

“ _I’m_ his mother.” Regina corrected as she grabbed a chair and set it in front of Gold’s cell. Once she was seated, she continued, “I think it’s time we finally had our chat.”

“I don’t suppose I have much of a choice.” Gold replied.

“No, you don’t.” Regina smiled.

Gold said, “When two people want something the other has, a deal can always be struck. Do you have what I want?”

“Yes.” Regina said, anticipation building, knowing she had Gold right where she wanted him.

Gold looked at her coldly. “So...you did put him up to it then.”

Regina shrugged a little. “I merely suggested that... strong men take what they need.”

“Oh yeah.” Gold scoffed. “And you told him just what to take, didn't you?”

“Indeed.” Regina said. “I’m surprised though. I would’ve thought you would go after Moe, not some poor janitor.”

“Don’t feel too sorry for him.” Gold nearly growled. “He isn’t so deserving of mercy.”

“You certainly didn’t show any.” Regina smirked. “We used to know each other so well, Mr. Gold. Has it really come down to this?”

“It seems it has, yeah, But you know what I want.” Gold said, becoming more impatient. “What is it you want?”

 _Finally_ , Regina thought. “I want you to answer one question. And answer it simply. What's your name?”

Gold looked smug as he said, “It’s Mr. Gold.”

Regina gave him a stern look. “Your _real_ name.”

“Every moment I've spent on this earth, that's been my name.” Gold told her, weaving his words to give himself some leeway.

Regina wasn’t having it. “But what about moments spent elsewhere?”

Gold paused for a few beats before asking, “What are you asking me?”

“I think you know.” Regina said. “If you want me to return what's yours, tell me your name.”

Regina barely suppressed the urge the grin gleefully as she saw the look of realization on his face. It was the look of a man who knew he was cornered with no way out, especially when Regina had something he wanted.

At long last, he said, “Rumplestiltskin. Now give me what I want.”

Regina smiled as she reached into her bag and took out a chipped cup. “Oh this?” When Gold tried to reach for it, she managed to keep it just out of his reach. “Such a...sentimental little keepsake.” After toying with him for a few more moments, she allowed him to keep the thing.

“Thank you...Your Majesty.” He said bitterly as he sat back down on his cot. “So... now that we're being honest with each other, let's remember how things used to be, shall we? And don't let these bars fool you, dear. I'm the one with the power around here. I'm gonna be out of here in no time, and nothing between us will change.”

“We shall see.” Regina said, getting up and taking a look at the clock on the wall. She still had some time left before the woman was due back with her son. Since she had gotten a little something to mark the day, and because she had wanted to do so anyways, she decided to visit another prisoner.

Regina got in her car, and drove to the hospital. Taking the rose that she had previously gotten from her car, Regina quickly made her way to the psychiatric ward in the hospital’s basement.   

Regina handed the rose to Nurse Ratched.

“Pretty.” The nurse said, accepting the rose.

“Well, I know how hard you work.” Regina said congenially. Then, just to make sure, she asked, “Has anyone been to see her?”

The nurse smiled a little. “No, ma'am. Not today. Not ever.”

Regina nodded, and made her way towards the cell of one of the ‘patients’ here.

Opening the slot, Regina peered in and looked at the husk of a woman who was once known as Belle. The amnesiac looked at her through her tangled brown locks, and Regina smiled.

She knew it was a good idea to keep this particular prisoner a secret. After all, she had told Rumplestiltskin in their past life that Belle had been ripped to shreds by her creature lover. If she popped up alive and well as any other cursed person in town, he would’ve seen through her deception. Regina only wanted this one alive long enough to act as...insurance against Rumplestiltskin.

Now that he was confirmed as awake, she knew that Belle would have to remain a secret.

She only visited her every once in a while. After all, this cursed persona of Belle’s never talked. Where was the fun in engaging with someone who never responded? She had once thought about keeping Belle’s lover in a cell such as this, but ultimately the curse had its own ideas. The Dark Curse was hers, no mistake about that, but sometimes it still found ways to surprise her.

Regina closed the slot, leaving the amnesiac woman back in her loneliness.

Regina released a breath with a smile on her face. Her suspicions about Gold were confirmed, and he made his little threats. It didn’t matter. He didn’t have magic, and he couldn’t touch her.

Besides, Regina had other enemies she wanted to focus on. Rumplestiltskin would just have to wait.

* * *

_She thinks she’s won_ , Gold thought as he sat alone in his cell, Emma still spending time with her boy.

Regina had always been a touch too smug for her own good. She thought because the curse was still active, he couldn’t move against her. While he couldn’t rip her black heart out of her chest and crush it, that didn’t make him helpless.

When he discovered his things missing, his first thought was to check under the floorboards of his shop. To his profound relief, the idiotic Moe had not discovered the potion. It was still there, waiting for Gold to work on it.

This chat with Regina did provide him with some insight. He had been sloppy. He hadn’t planned out Androcles’ murder nearly as much as he thought.

He needed to work on that potion, and fast. He needed some countermeasure against Regina if she decided that locking him in a closet wasn’t good enough. He very much wanted to live thank you.

He wouldn’t let hundreds of years of darkness and sacrifice go in vain. He wouldn’t lose the chance to see his son again.

This was a temporary setback. He’d get the charges dropped in no time.

Once he was out, he would gather the materials needed for his potion. First, he’d find a test subject. Then he’d go after his true target.

Gold could be patient. He could wait for his chance to strike. And when he did, no one would be able to stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it! Valentine’s Day - the day where villains giving their victims a beatdown. Oh, and love. That’s especially important ;) 
> 
> Seriously though, it was fun to explore these relationships further in this chapter. It was also fun to have CS get so close to have some sexy times. Sorry about that ;P
> 
> The lullaby Killian sings Mai is called “I See the Moon,” which is an old lullaby.
> 
> Freddie and Missy are based off the man and lion from “Androcles’ Lion,” except in this case it's a lioness named Art/Missy (lol Missy as a kitten still makes me smile).
> 
> Also, for those of you who are wondering - no, I am not a fan of Rumbelle. I kind of was in the beginning, but over time it just became such a toxic relationship, and honestly Belle deserves better. 
> 
> Let me know what you think below!
> 
> See you same time next week!


	22. Closing In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, people work towards their goals, a livelihood is threatened, and new information may change the course of people’s lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Everything canon belongs to A&E, ABC, and their lord and master Disney.
> 
> Another Disclaimer: I do not claim to know how school politics work, but I’m working under the assumption that since the curse is still under effect, and Regina has an unknown ally here, things might not go well for anyone Regina doesn’t like. 
> 
> Special thanks as always to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me with this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 15, 2012_

“How’s she feeling?” Dada asked, her voice coming from the other end of the call.

“She’s ready to get back today.” Killian replied as he glanced over at Mai, who was a little paler than normal, but thankfully a little better off than she was last night. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re coming back soon.” He then lowered his voice to say, “Just try to keep your distance.”

“So I don’t make her worse, got it.” Dada replied.

“Actually I meant so that you don’t get sick.” Killian corrected.

“Oh.” Dada said. “Well, I’ll see you then.”

“See you.” Killian said as he finally ended the call. He then grabbed Mai’s coat, and helped her put it on. “And...there.” Killian said as zipped up her coat and got her shoes on. “You, young girl, are almost ready to go.”

“Almost?” Mai asked in a quiet voice.

“You need to wear this mask thing.” Phoebe said as she came over with the germ mask the doctor handed them.

As Killian took it from Phoebe, he noticed her rubbing her arm.

“How’s your arm?” Killian asked as he put the mask over Mai’s face, adjusting it to make it comfortable for her.

“Fine, I guess.” Phoebe said. “Let’s just hope the flu shots we got work.”

“Right.” Killian said. “No need for us to get sick too.”

The doctor insisted on the shots, especially for Phoebe since she lived in the same household as Mai. Killian had also made sure to visit Freddie when he heard the man was in the hospital, and because of Gold of all people, before he went to see Mai again. He didn’t want Freddie to get sick on top of everything else.

“Sorry.” Mai apologized, touching the mask on her face.

Killian kissed her on the forehead reassuringly. “No need to be sorry. You just feel better. Arms up.”

Mai did so, and Killian picked her up, allowing Mai to wrap her arms around his neck. After securing her to him, Killian and Phoebe walked out of the hospital room. They made a quick stop at the front desk to get the paperwork done, and soon they were on their way home. Well, Killian was.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to see you off?” Killian asked Phoebe uncertainly.

“I’ll be fine.” Phoebe told him. “Besides, Mai needs to get home fast.”

“I just want you to be safe.” Killian said.

“The bus stop isn’t far from home.” Phoebe replied. “And I can walk myself back after school is over.”

Killian nodded.

“I see the moon...and the moon sees me…” Mai sang quietly under her breath, though given how her head was on his shoulder, Killian could clearly hear her.

“What’s she singing?” Phoebe asked.

“A song.” Mai told weakly. “From Killian’s mum.”

Phoebe looked at him oddly.

“It was just a lullaby.” Killian said self-consciously. “My mum used to sing it to be when I was sick.”

“Awww.” Phoebe said with a teasing smile. However, Killian did see an undertone of softness in her expression.

Killian blushed nonetheless.

“I can make it from here.” Phoebe said as she began to walk ahead.

“Be safe.” Killian told her.

“I always am.” Phoebe called back before running ahead to the bus stop.

Killian nodded to himself before telling Mai, “Come on Mai. Let’s go home.”

Mai snuggled into him. “Home.” She said quietly.

Killian smiled. _Home,_ he thought happily. _Somehow it means more now than it used to._

* * *

Henry was prepared to walk home after school when he spotted a familiar yellow Bug, and his mom leaning against it.

“Emma!” Henry greeted as he walked faster until he could fling his arms around her middle, happy that he could see her again.

Emma laughed, “Hey kid.”

That’s when Henry thought of something. He pulled back and looked at Emma confusedly. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too.” Emma replied.

“That’s not what I meant.” Henry huffed. “I just meant...is my other mom okay with this? She’s not going to get mad?”

Emma said, “Regi- your mom actually called to say that it was fine. I even put it on speaker phone so Graham could back me up on it later. She says she’s going to be busy today.”

That’s when Henry remembered that it was Wednesday. “Oh yeah, she’s going to visit her dad today.”

“Her dad?” Emma asked in a confused tone. “I’ve never seen her dad before.”

“He died a long time ago.” Henry said. “She killed him to activate the curse.”

Emma eyes widened in shock before she quietly warned, “Henry, you can’t just say she killed someone...unless she did. Henry are you safe?”

“I’m fine.” Henry said with a wave of his hand. “She crushed his heart to activate the Dark Curse, because he was the person he loved the most. She visits him every Wednesday in the mausoleum.”

Emma's expression only grew in concern.

 _Oh great,_ Henry thought. _Now she thinks Mom committed a murder in Storybrooke._

“So, we get to hang out together?” Henry asked, hoping to get her off topic.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like Emma was about to let this go. Still, Emma put a smile on her face and said, “Definitely. You want to go by that burger place you’ve been talking about?”

Henry smiled and nodded. They got into the Bug, and began to drive off.

Not long after they started driving, Emma started asking him questions.

"So Henry,” Emma started, “has Regina ever....done something to you?”

“She’s made me think I’m crazy.” Henry pointed out.

“Anything else?” Emma asked.

“What do you mean?” Henry responded.

“Nothing.” Emma said a little too quickly. “Just...has she ever made you feel uncomfortable? Outside of making you feel crazy?”

Henry thought about it before saying, “She won’t let me see Declan.” Henry’s brow furrowed in anger. “She keeps saying that he’s a bad kid, but he’s not. He’s my friend.”

“Mm.” Emma hummed as they reached a stop light. Once they turned a corner, Emma asked in a quiet voice, “Has she ever hurt you?”

“Hurt me?” Henry asked confusedly. “Um, no I don’t think so. She just keeps trying to convince me that the curse isn’t real.”

“Okay, got it.” Emma said, and Henry thought she sounded a little relieved.

“Why are you asking?” Henry asked her.

“Just...wanted to know how things were going.” Emma said. When Henry’s stomach suddenly rumbled, she smiled a little. “Sounds like somebody’s hungry.”

“Yeah.” Henry smiled back. “I’ve been wanting to go to his burger place forever. Mom wouldn’t let me go without her, and she never wants to go there.”

“Does she let you go anywhere?” Emma asked with an arched eyebrow.

Henry scoffed. “No.” He then sighed a little in aggravation. “It just sucks when she takes forever getting home. Yesterday, I thought she wouldn’t get back in time to make dinner.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked curiously.

“Well, she works late, so she leaves me at home a lot.” Henry told her, looking through the passenger’s side window, watching people and things go by.

“Alone?” Emma asked.

“Yeah.” Henry nodded as he looked back at her. “When Nancy still worked for at my house, Mom told her to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. Even then, Mom said it was Nancy's job to clean and keep quiet.”

“Really?” Emma asked, her eyes remaining on the road, though her tone sounded interested.

Suddenly, Henry felt self-conscious. “You’re not...going to tell my mom I said this, right?”

Emma cast him a brief but reassuring glance before returning her attention to the road. “No. Whatever you say, it can stay between you and me.”

Henry hesitated before nodding. They arrived at the burger place, but Henry wasn’t ready to get out yet.

“Henry?” Emma asked, her hand frozen over the release of her seatbelt. “What’s up?”

Henry shrugged.

“Henry.” Emma said before turning towards him as much as she could. “Hey, whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Henry, still worrying about the potential consequences of this, tried to redirect the conversation. “It’s fine. We should focus on Operation Cobra.”

“Well, this can be a separate operation.” Emma suggested.

“Like what?” Henry asked curiously. He didn’t think Emma had ever suggested an operation before.

Emma thought about it. “How about...Operation Bear?”

“Why ‘Operation Bear’?” Henry asked.

“Just...popped into my head.” Emma told him, though she seemed a little self-conscious about something. “You want to change the name?”

Henry shook his head immediately. “No. I like the name.”

Emma nodded with a small smile. “Thanks. Now...anything you want to say before we head in there?”

Henry bit his lip before asking once more, “Are you sure my mom won’t find out about this?”

“Promise.” Emma told him.

Henry hesitated, taking in a calming breath before saying, “Remember when I went to the mines?” When Emma nodded, Henry continued, “After we got home, my mom was really mad that I left. Actually, she was mad that I told her I hated her, because I found out she told Archie to make me think I was crazy. When we got back home, she sent me to bed without dinner.” Henry paused before another memory came to mind. “There was also the time I saw Graham in her office.”

“What was Graham doing in her office?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know.” Henry told her. “This was back in...November I think. She was really mad at Graham for something, but she got mad at me because I snuck out to hang out with Declan and LJ. I wouldn’t tell her who they were, so she said I had to go to bed without dinner. She also said that if I got out of bed, I wouldn’t get to each lunch or dinner the next day.”

Henry hadn’t realized he’d been avoiding looking at Emma’s face until he noticed how silent everything had gotten. He looked up, and found that Emma’s face was...weirdly calm. Normally this might’ve been soothing, but Henry also saw the way her breathing had gotten a little faster. It was quieter than normal, and that combined with how tense her body had body worried Henry.

“Emma?” He asked quietly. “Did I say something wrong?”

This seemed to snap Emma out it, and she shook her head. “No, kid. You didn’t do anything wrong. I promise.”

“Please don’t tell my mom.” Henry once again pleaded.

“Hey, a promise is a promise.” Emma told him. She then paused before enveloping him in a hug. “I love you, kid.”

Henry hugged her back. “I love you too, Em-” Then, because he remembered that they were alone, he amended, “I love you too, Mom.”

After a few more seconds, they released each other from the hug.

Emma smiled at him and said, “Now, you want to see what’s in that burger place?”

“Race you.” Henry said before he quickly got out of the car.

“Hey wait up.” Emma said as she too got out of the car, quickly locking it to catch up to him.

Henry smiled, happy that he was going to spend time with a mom who loved him.

* * *

David wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good idea to be alone with his soon-to-be ex-wife. The two of them hadn’t meant to end up at the same bar. It just kind of happened, and at first they had tried to avoid each other. At first, David thought that maybe she could provide insight on Regina, but that felt a little too deceptive for his tastes.

In the end, they were both lonely since everyone else they knew was busy with something, and this was certainly less awkward than being in a room when Ray and Mr. Spencer went at it.

“I just wish this whole thing would be over with.” Kathryn told him as she took a drink. “Not that I don’t enjoy dragging this out.”

“Of course.” David said, taking his own drink from the bartop. “What’s more fun than arguing about which of my stuff your lawyer- oh, sorry, what _you_ want.”

Kathryn rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I’m kind of starting to regret Mr. Spencer.”

“So why did you?” David asked, taking a drink.

“He came highly recommended.” Kathryn told her, pausing before she added, “By my father, who kind of hates you.”

“Gee, I hadn’t noticed.” David tried to joke.

Kathryn wasn’t amused.

The small smile that had been on David’s face slid off. David sighed. “How did it get to this? We used to be, well, friends right?”

“We did.” Kathryn nodded. “Then we got married and things...just didn’t work out. Look, I’m not having second thoughts about this divorce, but this whole thing  just feels like a slow trek through the mud.”

David couldn't argue with her there.

Then Kathryn asked, “How’s your friend doing? The one in the hospital?”

“Freddie?” David asked for clarification.

“You have more than one friend at the hospital?” Kathryn asked half-joking but also with some incredulity.

“To be honest, I’ve _had_ more than one friend at the hospital.” David said, thinking about how he’d had to visit Graham and Killian in the hospital. He wondered who was next.

“He’s doing a little better.” He told Kathryn. “I visited him earlier today. Once he gets better, he’s going to take in a cat he found.”

“What exactly happened to him?” Kathryn asked. “You were kind of vague about that.”

David replied, “Apparently Mr. Gold attacked him.”

“What? Why?” Kathryn asked aghast.

“No idea.” David told her. “Freddie doesn’t have a clue either. I mean, Gold’s generally not the most trustworthy guy, or above making a shady deal, but I didn’t think he’d just attack someone at random.”

“Mhmm.” Kathryn said. “Well, tell your friend I hope he’s okay.”

“Will do.” David said.

That’s when Kathryn asked. “By the way, where’s the cat now?”

“I took it back to the shelter.” David said, finishing his drink, and not for the first time wondering why it tasted weird. Maybe it was just a new style. “Since she somehow managed to escape before it could get any shot, the vet wanted to make extra sure she didn’t pick up any diseases.” David then looked at his wristwatch, blinking a little bit at how weirdly tired he felt. “I’m actually going to pick it up pretty soon.”

“What time is it, by the way?” Kathryn asked, also slowly blinking her eyes.

David had wanted to say that it was still the afternoon, almost evening, but instead he said. “Time to...time to go I think.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Kathryn said as she slowly got off the bar stool.

David nodded and got off the stool too.

“David.” Kathryn said, her hand on his, and he saw he had nearly fallen on the floor. He closed his eyes-

“David wake up.” Kathryn’s voice said insistently, and David opened his eyes.

To his confusion, he was no longer standing in the bar, but laying face first on a bed. Someone was shaking him, and he tried to see who it was, but everything was dark.

“David, get up already.” Kathryn’s voice said, and with a start, David turned around and saw that Kathryn was right next to him on the bed... _.in Kathryn’s house._

David’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Kathryn, what the hell-”

“I was about to ask the same thing.” Kathryn said, and thank god they were both fully dressed.

David looked at his watch, and to his disbelief he found that it was almost midnight.

Kathryn groaned as she placed a hand on her head. “What the hell was in that drink?”

“I don’t know.” David said. He was sure he’d only had one drink, and it wasn’t even meant to be that strong. Kathryn had only had a single drink as well, and-

David groaned as well when he felt a persistent headache. He tried thinking about what had happened, but looking at his wristwatch again, David swore. “Shit, I was supposed to pick up Missy hours ago. The pet shelter’s closed by now.”

“Do you think anyone saw us?” Kathryn said as she got off the bed.

David got off the bed and said, “I...I don’t know.” That’s when a surge of fear spiked up. What if Mary Margaret had seen him entering his soon-to-be ex’s house? What if she assumed the worst? What the hell could he say?

_No, Mary Margaret, I swear we didn’t sleep together, we just went out and had drinks then ended up at her place?_

“Oh, this is not good.” Kathryn said. “Things are already awkward enough as it is. I don’t need people thinking we did anything.”

“We didn’t do anything, right?” David asked worriedly.

Kathryn thought about it for a minute before saying, “I...I don’t think so. I mean we’re still dressed. We probably just fell asleep.”

“Yeah, yeah.” David agreed, not wanting to think anything more of this. “I’ll just...go home now.” David then checked his coat, which was on a chair nearby, and sighed. “I don’t have my keys. Great. I’m going to see if maybe they’re at the bar. It might still be open.”

“You want me to call someone?” Kathryn offered hesitantly.

“No, it’s fine.” David said as he put on his coat and headed toward the door.

“David.” Kathryn called out.

David turned around and waited for what she had to say.

“Let’s just...keep this between us, alright?” Kathryn asked hopefully.

Knowing that this could also do damage to his relationship with Mary Margaret, and sincerely hoping that nothing truly did happen, David nodded. “Will do.”

Without another word, David left, hoping to put this whole incident out of his mind.

* * *

_February 16, 2012_

Henry had been doing better since he was allowed to see Emma again, but it still wasn’t as much contact as either one would’ve hoped. Personally, Mary Margaret just wished Regina would let Emma and Henry see each other more. When Emma was allowed to see Henry the day before, that was the happiest she’d been in weeks. Not to mention the fact that Emma seemed angry and disturbed by something that happened when they spent time together yesterday.

Henry had seemed to perk up, but there was also a part of him that visibly missed his friends.

When she watched the kids at recess, Declan would go off to be by himself. Henry would look like he wanted to approach, but always stopped himself. Recently, Henry had started pushing away his other friends too. He had started withdrawing from Paige in class, which left the girl visibly upset whenever he chose someone else to partner up with. He would play with the twins or LJ. He had also begun going straight home, like he was doing today.

Mary Margaret had to do something.

“Henry.” Mary Margaret called out, walking faster to catch him before he left the boundaries of the school.

Henry turned around and gave her a forced smile. “Hi Ms. Blanchard.”

Mary Margaret smiled sympathetically at him. “How are you today?”

“I’m okay.” Henry told her. “I’m just going to head home.”

“You’re not going to the library with your friends?” Mary Margaret questioned.

Henry shook his head. “It’s Declan’s day to hang out with them.”

“What do you mean it’s ‘Declan’s day’?” Mary Margaret asked him.

Henry replied, “My mom said I’m still not allowed to hang out with Declan, and I don’t want to get him into trouble, so I figured it would be better if I just went home.” Henry tried to hide it, but he couldn’t quite mask just how unhappy he was with this.

 _Why would this get Declan into trouble?_ , Mary Margaret wondered. _Is it because of the threat Regina made?_

Mary Margaret paused before asking, “You want me to walk you home?”

“I thought you had a car.” Henry inquired.

“I do, but I think a walk would be good for both of us.” Mary Margaret said. _Besides, it’d be a little strange for me as a teacher to invite you into my car without your mother knowing._

Henry hesitated before saying, “Only if it’s okay with you. I don’t want you to have to walk all the way back.”

Mary Margaret gave a good natured scoff. “I promise, it’s no problem.”

After a few moments, Henry nodded, and the two of them began walking towards his house together.

“So, how have things been at home?” Mary Margaret asked as they walked.

“Fine, I guess.” Henry told her. “Just kind of boring.”

“How come?” She inquired.

Henry shrugged silently.

"Is it because you can't have friends over?" Mary Margaret guessed.

“Yeah.” Henry admitted quietly. “After what happened, everyone’s too scared to come over.”

Mary Margaret didn’t blame them.

“It’s not fair.” Henry told her, his tone a mixture of anger and frustration. “First my mom curses everyone, and never lets me have friends. Now when I do have friends for the first time ever, she scares all of them.”

While it was hard to believe Henry's curse fantasy, Mary Margaret still felt terrible that Regina actively isolated him. That wasn't good for any child, especially for Henry given how depressed he was before Emma came along. He’d really started coming out of his shell with his group of friends, and now all of that progress he’d made might be reversed.

Mary Margaret was so lost in thought over this that she nearly missed the two bicyclists coming their way.

“Ooh, watch out!” Mary Margaret shouted as she instinctively grabbed Henry, and then swung him out of the path of the two bicyclists. Unfortunately, avoiding the two proved a little too difficult, and as she tried to avoid them, she lost grip of Henry.

“Ah!” Henry cried out in pain as his head smacked against the pavement.

“Henry!” Mary Margaret gasped as she kneeled next to him. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.” Henry said, though as he sat up, Mary Margaret saw a small gash on the left side of his forehead.

“Oh, you are hurt.” Mary Margaret said as a pang of guilt went through her. Mary Margaret helped Henry stand up. “Come on, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Henry touched the gash. “I’m fi-” He stopped himself when he brought his hand back to his face, and found some blood there.

“Yep, definitely taking you to the hospital.” Mary Margaret told him as she grabbed some tissues from her purse, and pressed it against the wound. “Just keep it in place there.”

Henry did as he was told, and together they hurried to the hospital.

* * *

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Freddie asked incredulously as Emma stood awkwardly by his bedside. He then took a breath, visibly trying to calm himself down before saying, “Sorry, but...how?”

Emma didn’t like it anymore than he did, but unfortunately Gold had a way with words. Emma also suspected that Gold might’ve used some other method to convince the judge of his bail. However, given the conditions of that bail, maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal. The only consolation Freddie seemed to have at the moment was that he’d be out of the hospital soon, since they said his fractured ribs should take care of themselves. He was either tougher than he looked, or lucky enough that Gold hadn’t broken anything.

Whatever the case, she wanted to be the one to tell Freddie what happened, rather than let someone else tell him.

“He attacked me.” Freddie said. “He might’ve killed me if you hadn’t shown up, and he’s out on bail?”

“With a few conditions.” Emma interjected, and tried not to wince when Freddie scoffed. “He isn’t allowed to be within 100 yards of you, and he isn’t allowed to contact you in any way.”

“Like that’s ever stopped him from screwing over someone.” Freddie said.

“If he tries anything, he ends up right back in a cell until his trial.” Emma assured him.

“If we ever make it to trial.” Freddie replied. He paused before sighing. “I can assume that he hasn’t plead guilty.”

Emma silently shook her head.

“Which means he thinks he can beat it.” Freddie surmised. “Maybe I should just drop the charges.”

“Because you’re afraid of Gold?” Emma asked.

“Because no one will stand up to him.” Freddie told her in a frustrated yet panicked voice. “Besides, I barely have enough money to pay for rent and Missy let alone deal with whatever Gold’s going to throw at me. You and Graham are my only line of defense, and you can’t always be there. I don’t even know why Gold hates me so much, or why he tried to kill me.” Freddie then groaned as one hand clutched his head.

The whole thing couldn’t be good for the head injury Gold gave him.

Emma said, “Look, right now all you need to do is try to get better. Gold won’t get anywhere near you, I promise.”

Freddie still seemed uncertain, but then nodded his head. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Emma nodded as well, and soon after she left, as she had somewhere else to be.

Emma swung by Granny’s Diner first to grab lunch for four people, and then she went to the library. There Dada and Henry’s friends greeted her, and though Emma greeted them back, she couldn’t help but notice that Henry wasn’t there. Maybe he had headed straight home. He’d done that a lot lately.

She headed up to Killian’s apartment, and knocked on the door.

Phoebe was the one who opened it. “Hi Emma.” She said.

“Hi Phoebe.” Emma replied before lifting up a couple of bags. “I’ve got lunch for everyone.”

“Cool, thanks.” Phoebe said with a relieved smile as she opened the door wider, allowing Emma to enter.

Once inside, Phoebe closed the door and locked it, and Emma straight for the kitchenette.

“Phoebe, who’s that?” Killian asked from the bedroom.

“It’s me.” Emma called out.

Soon after, Killian came out of the bedroom.

“Got you guys lunch.” Emma said as she and Phoebe took the food out. ““Hi Phoebe.” Emma replied before lifting up a couple of bags. “I’ve got lunch for everyone.”

“Cool, thanks.” Phoebe said with a relieved smile as she opened the door wider, allowing Emma to enter.

Once inside, Phoebe closed the door and locked it, and Emma straight for the kitchenette.

“Phoebe, who’s that?” Killian asked from the bedroom.

“It’s me.” Emma called out.

Soon after, Killian came out of the bedroom.

“Got you guys lunch.” Emma said as she and Phoebe took the food out. “Including some soup for Mai. Is she in the bedroom?”

“Yes, with Lady standing guard.” Killian said as he walked over, ready to give her a kiss, but then hesitated.

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“I’ve just been around a sick 4-year-old all day.” Killian explained. “I’m not sure if you want to risk becoming sick as well.”

Emma kissed him anyways, because reasons.

“Aaaaand now you’re sick.” Phoebe said, pointedly not looking at either of them.

“Worth it.” Emma told her.

Killian smiled, leaning in to kiss her again.

She hummed against his lips, happy to be in his arms.

Phoebe cleared her throat. “There are children present.”

Killian gave her a strange look. “And here I thought you didn’t enjoy being called a child.”

“That’s still true.” Phoebe said, taking out a fork. However, she then pointed it at something behind them. “And I was talking about the 4-year-old who looks like she’s gonna fall over.”

“Hi Emma.” Mai said, and Emma turned to find Mai slowly shuffling towards her. Mai was dressed in sweatpants and a loose purple shirt. She also wore fuzzy socks that had little white stars on a blue background. She looked better than she did before, but she was still pretty sick.

“Hey, Mai.” Emma greeted, sympathetic to her plight.

Mai eventually came over, and hugged Emma’s leg in greeting.

Emma softly patted the top of Mai’s head. Then, on impulse, she brushed some hair away from her face.

“How are you feeling?” Emma asked her.

“Better.” Mai mumbled against her leg.

“Look what Emma brought, Mai.” Killian said as he reached down to pick her up. Mai slowly let go of her leg, and allowed Killian to pick her up and set her on a chair by the kitchenette. “See, she brought you some soup.”

“More soup?” Mai asked a little warily.

“Be nice.” Killian told her gently. “Half the time we’ve been sticking to soup to help you feel better. That way you’ll get to eat solid foods sooner.”

“Okay.” Mai said.

“What do you say?” Killian prompted.

“Thank you, Emma.” Mai told her.

“No problem.” Emma said. They got the food out, and soon began to eat. Mai, with some help, managed to get some of the soup into her mouth. Emma was glad that Mai was feeling better, and seemed able to keep her food down.

Things were going okay, and then Phoebe blurted out, “Is Mr. Gold still in jail?”

Emma was still taken by surprise as she asked, “What?”

Phoebe stared angrily at her food, and sounded more resigned than anything else. “Is he in jail, or did he get out already?”

 _Why on Earth would Phoebe want to know about Gold?_ Emma shared a confused look with Killian.

“Mr. Gold?” Mai asked confusedly.

“He’s the guy who owns the pawn shop.” Phoebe told her, still staring at her food.

“The bad man?” Mai asked with a slowly dawning look of realization on her face.

That reaction, while not wholly unexpected, still set off an alarm bell or two in Emma’s head.

“Why do you want to know about Gold?” Killian asked as he stared at Phoebe.

“Because he attacked someone.” Phoebe answered with a glance in Killian’s direction. “Everyone says so.”

That wasn’t a complete lie, but Emma knew she was holding something back.A gut feeling told Emma that it was more than small town gossip that had Phoebe worried over Gold's whereabouts.

Still, there wasn’t much of a point in keeping it a secret. It would come out eventually. So, taking in a quiet, calming breath Emma said, “Gold is out on bail.”

Phoebe sighed before she dropped her fork onto her face, and placed her face in her hands.

Killian looked at her worriedly. “Phoebe, what’s-”

Phoebe got up and walked away. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” Phoebe then went into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Okay, is there something that I need to know?" Emma asked Killian.

“I don’t know.” Killian said, his eyes not moving from the bathroom door. “She’s never been interested in talking about Gold before.”

“He’s a bad man.” Mai told them, and they turned their attention to her. “He makes Astrid scared.”

 _Because of the rent thing?_ , Emma wondered.

“Phoebe said Mr. Gold hurt someone.” Mai said. “Is that true?”

Emma hesitated, knowing this was a lot to talk about with a girl her age, so instead she said, “It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“Exactly.” Killian told Mai before gently pinching one of the little girl’s cheeks. “Now finish your soup. Emma and I are just going over there to talk for a moment.”

Mai nodded before focusing her attention on the soup.

Killian nodded for Emma to come with him, and together the two of them moved further away from the kitchenette. Lady followed, though Emma didn’t think that Lady was about to spill any secrets. It was only when they were out of earshot of Mai that Killian spoke.

“How the hell is it possible that Gold is out on bail?” Killian asked a little tensely. Then, more worriedly, he started “Freddie-”

“Is going to be fine.” Emam interrupted. “If Gold goes within 100 yards of Freddie, he’s back in jail until the trial."

“So Freddie’s pressing charges?” Killian asked, seemingly on board with this plan. When Emma hesitated to answer, he continued in a less assured voice, “He’s not pressing charges?”

“He’s...undecided.” Emma sighed. “He’s worried that if he presses charges, nothing’s going to happen to Gold, and Gold will retaliate somehow.”

“Not if I have something to say about that.” Killian said determinedly.

“You going to convict him yourself?” Emma asked sarcastically.

“If Gold threatens Freddie again, I’ll definitely do something.” Killian told her seriously, and from his tone Emma had the feeling that Killian might take a more... _direct_ approach.

“Killian, please don't.” Emma pleaded softly, mindful of the other people in the apartment. “I can't protect you if you do something to Gold. You and I both know that you try anything Gold will bury you, and you would lose the girls.”

Killian didn’t say anything, but clearly he took the warning seriously, if his glances at Mai and at the bathroom door were anything to go by.

“He’s getting worse.” Killian told her. “It’s not just what he did to Freddie. Well it is, but that’s not all. I can just... _feel_ like something is going to happen, but I can’t explain it.”

Emma cupped his cheek. "Whatever it is, he's going to get caught eventually. So don't go do anything reckless, alright?”

Killian paused before eventually giving an exaggerated sigh. “If you insist, Swan.”

Emma kissed him again. “I do.”

“You’re sick like three times over now.” Phoebe’s voice told them, and they jumped a little at seeing that Phoebe was peaking at them through the slightly ajar bathroom door.

“Feeling better?” Emma asked her.

Phoebe nodded silently.

Emma bit the inside of her lip. She didn't want to be suspicious of Phoebe, but something was definitely going on.

“Thanks for the food by the way.” Phoebe told her as she stepped out of the bathroom.

“No problem.” Emma told Phoebe as she walked back to the kitchenette, sharing a look with Killian that proved they were in agreement about something being off. They rejoined the girls and continued eating their food. Emma knew she had to get back to work soon, and hopefully Gold would do them all a favor and slip up big time so he could get out of their lives.

Then again, Emma never was one to take a sucker’s bet.

* * *

Regina raced towards the ER, her mind racing with thoughts about what might have happened to her son.

Thanks to her position and some subtle threats, she quickly arrived at Henry’s room, and to her surprise, she found Snow White.

“What are you doing here?” Regina demanded of the teacher as she approached her son, taking notice of the gash on the left side of his forehead. The doctor was finished up a stitch on the gash.

“I was with Henry when it happened.” Mary Margaret told her, stepping back to allow Regina to see her son.

“So this is your fault?” Regina accused. It seems Mary Margaret’s incompetence was more dangerous than Regina initially thought.

“It’s not her fault.” Henry protested, looking put off with her. “There were two people on bicycles, and Mary Margaret got me out of the way. I ended up tripping and I hit my head. It was an accident.”

“Clearly she didn’t do a good enough job in keeping you safe.” Regina muttered, though she made sure that everyone there heard her. They were smart enough not to say anything back at her. However, she remained annoyed that Mary Margaret was still there, and said in a resolute tone, “You can go now.”

Mary Margaret seemed to hesitate.

Looking at Henry, Regina saw that he was giving her a pleading look.

What could he possibly want from her? Regina was his mother, he only needed her. Impatient to have the damnable woman out of the room, Regina said, “Ms. Blanchard, please don’t make this any worse. You’ve done more than enough for today.”

Once again, Mary Margaret hesitated, but before she could draw out more of Regina’s ire, she turned to Henry and said, “Just try to feel better. Bye Henry.”

“Bye Ms. Blanchard.” Henry said, glancing at Regina for a second, but keeping his eyes on Mary Margaret until the woman left the room.

Regina turned on her son, who pointedly didn’t look at her. “Why were you with Mary Margaret?” Regina asked him.

“She was walking me back home.” Henry said, still not looking at her. “You said you were too busy to get me.”

“I don’t exactly enjoy all of my work, but it’s necessary.” Regina said defensively. “And I didn’t approve of you walking with Ms. Blanchard.”

“I though you’d be okay with me not walking home alone.” Henry replied.

“And yet Ms. Blanchard was so incompetent that instead of being hit by two cyclists, you have head trauma.” Regina said.

“Actually, the MRI scan we did before you arrived proved no head trauma.” The doctor told her. “That gash should only take about a week for it to heal.”

“Thank you for your input, doctor.” Regina said tersely. “My son and I will be going home now.”

It didn’t take long before Regina and Henry were in her car driving home. The staff was more than ready to keep her happy by not bogging her down with slow paperwork. With the extra assurance that her son would be healed within the week, and that the injury wasn’t more serious, Regina’s thoughts turned to other things.

Henry’s defiance didn’t go unnoticed. He was still so hung up on his loser friend and the vagabond who happened to give birth to him. It was bad enough she had to compete for Henry with Emma, but somehow a 12-year-old was still in the running in her son’s mind?

Oh, and let’s not forget Mary Margaret. Snow had gotten Daniel killed, but now she endangered her son? She would not get away with it.

However, given how she failed to kill Graham, she couldn’t risk something like killing Mary Margaret. Emma was still fired up over being restricted from Henry, and while Regina knew she could crush Emma, she also knew that Emma might do something rash that could hit Regina a little too hard. Besides, she had a bigger plan in the works already, but she didn’t want to have to wait that long.

How could she hurt Mary Margaret? How could she do damage without actually doing something illegal here? After what she did to Henry-

 _Wait...that’s it,_ Regina thought happily. She did this to Henry, and Henry had the cut on his head to prove it. It wasn’t the soul crushing torment Regina was used to, but it could be the first step. Thought it might be minor in the long run, it could also work for the bigger plan Regina had in mind.

Regina smiled. Yes, this could work out quite nicely.

* * *

He was _so_ close. He had all but finished his potion. All he needed was a little bit of magic to make it work. Of course there was always Maleficent, because she had to be here, but even if he did know where she was, he wasn’t desperate enough to use her. That magic was meant for the Savior to retrieve, and Gold to collect on.

Regina would likely have kept it close to her, but there was no way to determine what it could be. He had narrowed some items in Regina’s possession that _could_ be laced with magic, but it was a headache to sort it all out. He could always just ask her with a little please, but that would make Regina too suspicious. Regina was many things - smug, impetuous, and prone to rags, but not stupid.

Or rather, not _that_ stupid.

It had been trivially easy to get out of jail, even with the conditions for his bail. He couldn’t go anywhere near the beast, but for now that was alright. Once the curse was broken and his magic was returned to him, he’d deal with the beast then.

As it was, Gold was resigned to staying in his shop, setting up everything needed to get it to work.

He placed the potion back in its hiding place, and groaned as his old wound surged with pain as he got up. He paused to regain his strength before grabbing his cane, and walking out to the front of the shop. Of course, no one was there. He wasn’t surprised that fewer people than normal wanted to come by his establishment, not after word of what he did to the beast spread. This didn’t bother him. After all, he was used to everyone being afraid of him. Perhaps this could help the locals be a little more forthcoming about paying their dues to him, or serve as a warning to anyone who might try to cross him.

Speaking of which, he really should remind himself to find Moe alone some time to teach him what it means to steal from him.

Putting that down as something for the future, he then took to watching people walk by, predictably walking faster to avoid his shop as much as he could. Gold looked at all of those people, and few of them were of any significance to Gold. He didn’t recognize most of them from his past life, and even when he did, they didn’t hold much interest to him. For instance, ‘Leroy’ was once the dwarf Grumpy, but he was inconsequential. Gold watched so many people walk by, and yet none of them seemed right to test his potion on, least of all a drunkard dwarf.

Until he saw her.

He didn’t recognize her, but she wasn’t necessarily inconsequential. In this life, she was known as ‘Dada Meyer’. She was the assistant to Jones at the library - a quiet little thing who seemed to admire the pirate. Honestly, what was it about that man that drew so many people to him?

Perhaps...perhaps that’s why she stuck out in his mind. That, and he knew that Jefferson held a spark for the girl. Gold knew that Jefferson remembered. He was perhaps the only person besides Gold, Regina, and Henry who knew the truth about Storybrooke. Well, there was that mousy woman who came into his shop awhile ago who seemed familiar, but he couldn’t be sure if it was.

In any case, Ms. Meyer stayed in his mind. If she was smart, she wouldn’t trust Gold, but perhaps she could be made pliable if worst comes to worst. If not, he also knew that she didn’t have any family in town, meaning that they were either dead or they didn’t remember they had a loved one.

He didn’t think the potion would kill the girl. Cause potential memory damage perhaps, but not death.

Getting the girl to him, while a tad complicated, would also prove fruitful. If he played his cards right, he could gain another ally on top of the one he really wanted. Perhaps the girl too depending on whether or not the strength of the original potion proved potent.

However, the first order of business would be to get the potion to work. After that, he could set his plan in motion. When that was done, he couldn’t wait to see the look on Regina’s face when she realized that she didn’t hold as many cards as she thought.

* * *

_February 20, 2012_

Mary Margaret was nervous. She had gotten notice that she was appear before the school board in a private meeting. The letter said that it was about her conduct, but she had no idea what was wrong. She hadn’t missed any deadlines, all of her students’ assignments, quizzes, and tests were graded. It was a Monday, and she had been ready to start the school week when this happened. What could they want to talk to her about?

“Take a seat, Ms. Blanchard.” Mrs. Mueller said as she and the other board members sat in their seats.

Mary Margaret did as directed.

Mrs. Mueller didn’t waste any time. “It has come to our attention that you have been...paying undue attention to a student.” Mrs. Mueller said in a sympathetic voice. “One of our parents has expressed concerns that after school hours, this led to the student being injured.”

“Wha-” Mary Margaret started, and then realized that the only person who this could have applied to was Henry.

"Henry Mills is the son of my roommate.” Mary Margaret told them as calmly as she could. “He used to visit her at my apartment, so of course I've gotten to know him.”

“Is that what led you to taking this student home yourself on February 16th?” Another member of the board asked stoically. “The day he was injured?”

"His mother wasn't picking him up." Mary Margaret calmly explained. "He's not on the bus roster. Was I supposed to let a child walk home alone?"

“Why didn’t you use your car then?” Another board member asked. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to drive him to his home, and thus avoid this entire thing in the first place.”

“Because-” Mary Margaret stopped herself, as she was about to say ‘Because it would’ve seemed strange to have him in my car instead of walking him’. That would’ve been infinitely worse.

“Because what, Ms. Blanchard?” Mrs. Mueller asked kindly.

Mary Margaret tried to hide how much she swallowed a lump. “Because, well, I thought we could use the walk. Henry has been upset lately, and I was hoping that he trusted me enough to open up about what might be happening at home. I really did try to get him out of the way of the cyclists.”

“But in the end, the boy still ended up hurt.” One of them said. A look passed between the members of the board, one that Mary Margaret didn’t like.

“Ms. Blanchard…” Mrs. Mueller trailed off, a sympathetic look on her face. Mary Margaret’s stomach dropped when she saw that Mrs. Mueller had a look on her face like she was about to deliver bad news. “I must confess that the board and I have discussed this before you arrived, and unfortunately, unless I am mistaken...we are disturbed by the lack of professionalism you have displayed, and for how this has, however unintentionally, resulted in a child being harmed.”

“I-” Mary Margaret started, but Mrs. Mueller wouldn’t let her finish.

“It is the decision of this board that you be suspended until further notice.” Mrs. Mueller told her, and Mary Margaret felt her heart skip a beat. “

“I’m sorry?” Mary Margaret asked stunned, hoping that she’d heard her wrong. This...this couldn’t be happening. No, it just couldn’t.

“Know that we did not come to this decision lightly.” Mrs. Mueller told her assuredly. “However, in spite of your service to this institution, it is also the decision of this board that you not go on school property, and that you leave immediately. A substitute will take over your duties, and your belongings will be delivered to you within the day.”

Mary Margaret felt like she'd been punched in the gut. She cleared her throat, trying to hold in the tears that pricked her eyes. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t quite form any words. Suspended? She hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I know this is a shock, but I’m sure it’ll all end well.” Mrs. Mueller told her kindly. “This meeting is adjourned.”

Mary Margaret collected herself enough to say, “Thank you.” It was said in a wavering, fragile tone, but the board members seemed to accept it. Mary Margaret moved on autopilot as she left the school premises, still trying to absorb what happened.

She’d been suspended. All she knew was how to teach. She _loved_ teaching, and she had been suspended.

Mary Margaret gasped for breath, and she got in her car to get away from anyone’s sight. She could feel herself ready to fall to pieces, and she’d rather not be humiliated twice in public.

* * *

At lunch, Henry and Declan seemed occupied with brooding by themselves. This left the rest of them time to talk about what they’d observed so far. And...it was pretty minimal.

“We suck as spies.” Ava said as it became clear that none of them saw anything worth noting. Well, except Nick.

“I saw her go into a stone building kind of place.” Nick said. “At the cemetery.”

“She was probably visiting a dead relative.” Paige said. “It’s kind of why cemeteries exist.”

LJ rolled his eyes. “I guess it was too much to hope that we’d find her doing something illegal.”

“Again, we suck as spies.” Ava reiterated.

LJ’s head hit the table. “Okay.” He said as he quickly sat upright, thinking about what else they could do. “We only just started this. There’s still time to do something.”

“Like what?” Ava asked him. “What more can we do than what we're doing?”

“I don’t know, okay.” LJ said impatiently. There was a pause where everyone was silent, and LJ took a breath. “Sorry. It’s just...ugh, I hate this. Nothing is changing, and somehow Regina is still getting away with ruining people’s lives. She has to be up to something. She’s not a good enough person to _not_ be up to something.”

The others nodded silently, and it looked like they were trying to think.

Then, Paige came up with something. “Hey Nick, who was Mayor Mills visiting?”

“I...don’t know.” Nick said. “Should we ask Henry?”

“Might as well.” LJ said, getting up and walking over to where Henry was sitting by himself.

“Hey Henry.” LJ greeted.

“Hey LJ.” Henry said, not looking up from his food.

“I have kind of a weird question to ask.” LJ started, thinking about using the direct approach.

Henry sighed a little. “Sure, go ahead.”

“Does Regina visit anyone in the cemetery?” LJ asked him.

This time, Henry looked up, a curious look on his face. “Well yeah, her dad.”

“Aw.” LJ said, sympathetic to that. “Sorry about her dad dying.”

“He didn’t just die, you know.” Henry said calmly. “She killed him.”

LJ’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“Keep it down.” Henry told him, and LJ realized that he had raised his voice. “She killed him in the Enchanted Forest. She crushed his heart to activate the Dark Curse.”

That made LJ remember stories that Henry had told him and Declan of how Regina, or the Evil Queen, apparently cast the Dark Curse. The Evil Queen had to sacrifice the heart of the thing she loved the most. So, she killed her father to get revenge of Snow White.

LJ hesitated before asking, “So you think she actually killed her dad?”

“I know she did.” Henry told him.

“Why haven’t you to-” LJ stopped himself as he realized the answer to his question. “You haven’t told anyone she killed her dad, because everyone would just think it’s a story in your book.”

Henry nodded before sighing. “You still don’t believe in the curse, do you?” He asked resignedly.

“It’s...hard to believe.” LJ told him. He then added in a serious, “But I do think Regina is an awful person who needs to be stopped.”

Henry looked at him. “You have to be careful. My mom could hurt you.”

“Like she’s hurt Declan?” LJ asked pointedly. “That’s why she has to be stopped. I know more happened than what she’s saying. Declan’s been off, like _really_ off, and I know you’ve noticed it. That’s why you stayed away, right?”

Henry looked away, unwilling to really say more on the matter.

LJ knew that this was probably the most he was going to get out of Henry, but he at least got something. “Okay. Thanks Henry. I’ll see you around.” LJ began to get up, but he stopped himself to tell Henry one last thing. “I still don’t believe in this curse, but we both know that Regina is a bad person. So...be careful, please.”

LJ got up from the table, but before he could get far, Henry spoke up.

“Why do you call her Regina?” Henry asked.

“What do you mean?” LJ asked. “That’s her name isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.” Henry said. “But before, you always called her my mom or ‘Mayor Mills’. You don’t call her those anymore. You call her Regina. Why?”

LJ was filled with a great amount of bitterness that had been growing since the day Declan was locked in the closet. He answered, “I called her those things before because I thought it was right. I thought she deserved some respect. Now I know for sure she doesn’t.”

Henry didn’t say anything after that, and LJ walked back to the group, thinking about how he could use this information to good use.

* * *

“What’s gotten into you?” David asked Copper, who tugged insistently on his leash.

Copper had been acting just fine, except for the fact that Missy was resting on David’s shoulder. Copper and Missy had engaged in a bark-hiss standoff for a half a minute before Perdita barked at them both loudly. They hadn’t made a peep since.

David heard the sounds of someone crying somewhere ahead. It sounded like it was near the lake. Curious, David walked forward to investigate, and his heart wrenched at the sight of Mary Margaret crying on a log.

“Mary Margaret, what happened?” David asked concernedly.

Mary Margaret looked at him with tear-filled eyes, with a reddish nose and a miserable expression on her face.

“David.” Mary Margaret said shakily, hastily wiping the tears from her face.

As David walked forward, his concern for Mary Margaret overtook his mind, and he accidentally loosened his grip on Copper’s leash. The pup took the chance to race forward towards Mary Margaret, where he whined at her concernedly.

“Hi.” Mary Margaret said, trying to smile at the puppy but looking too sad to make the smile convincing.

“Are you okay?” David asked as he sat on the log next to Mary Margaret.

“No.” Mary Margaret said with a sorrowful scoff. “I just lost my job.”

David’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”

Mary Margaret corrected in a wavering voice, “Well, I’ve been suspended, but I can’t go back to the school.”

“Why would they do that?” David asked her.

Mary Margaret explained what happened with Henry the previous week, and how the board members had gotten a complaint from Regina about it. David quickly pieced together that, in all likelihood, Regina had conflated things to hurt Mary Margaret, and probably wanted this outcome. It still pissed him off that this had happened at all.

“This can’t last.” David told her. “Ray can probably do something about this.”

“But how long will that take?” Mary Margaret asked. “Who knows how long I’ll be jobless for.”

David's heart went out to her. By all accounts, Mary Margaret loved teaching. And of all the days she could’ve been fired on, the very start of the school week had to hurt.

Mary Margaret’s face scrunched up, and she sniffled as if to control her emotions.

“Hey, come here.” David said gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and pulling her close.

Mary Margaret sobbed a little, but went close to him.

“It’s going to be alright.” David promised her. “We’ll figure something out.”

“We?” Mary Margaret asked him.

“Yeah.” David said. “We’re...we’re friends, aren’t we? I’ve got your back.”

Copper stood on his hind legs, balancing himself by placing his front paws on Mary Margaret’s knee.

“See? Copper’s got your back too.” David said.

Mary Margaret gave a wet chuckle before she picked up Copper, and held him in her lap. She seemed to take comfort in the puppy's presence, despite her saddened expression.

Missy leapt off David’s shoulder onto his own lap, and looked at Mary Margaret curiously. Copper noticed it, and soon the puppy and the kitten were locked in a stare. It might’ve escalated had Perdita not growled at them warningly.

“And now we know who’s in charge.” Mary Margaret said, the sadness still etched in every part of her face.

David paused before suggesting, “You need me to walk you home?”

Mary Margaret chuckled bitterly. “Oh, walking people home is what got me into this. No, I’ll just drive. I probably need to since I’ve been here for a while."

David pursed his lips. “You want me to swing by after my shift? It’s no problem.”

“I don’t know.” Mary Margaret said quietly. “I think I just need to be alone for awhile.”

“Okay.” David said as he gave her one last gentle squeeze before releasing her. Mary Margaret placed Copper on the ground, and David put Missy back on his shoulder. They both got up, and David said, “I promise, it’s going to be okay.”

Mary Margaret didn’t say anything. She simply nodded and left.

David’s heart broke for her, and he knew that as soon as his shift was over, he would have to find something good and damning on Regina. He knew that Ray was already building a better case, but things were getting out of control. First Regina pulled that shit with Declan, then Freddie was attacked by Gold, and now Regina caused Mary Margaret to be suspended? People he knew and cared about were being tormented left and right, and that burned David right to the core.

One way or another, David was going to hit them back, and he was going to hit them back hard.

* * *

“Oh shit, I think I’ve got something.” Ray said to himself, only comfortable swearing because LJ was out of the house. He was staring at the photos everyone had collected, and after looking over the time stamps, he was sure that he was finally getting some momentum for a case against Regina. At the very least, he had just gotten Emma some leverage.

Ray looked over at the stove, and swore again as he narrowly avoided burning the soup he was making. He turned off the stove and put the pot on a separate, cooler part of the stove. He then went over to the phone and made a call.

“Hello.” Killian answered.

“Hi Killian, it’s Ray.” He responded. “Is LJ there?”

“Yes, he’s downstairs with Dada.” Killian said. “She’s becoming a remarkable child wrangler- I mean pseudo-teacher.”

Ray smiled. He then asked, “Is it still alright if I bring over that soup?”

“Yes of course.” Killian said. “I haven’t had a chance to make anything yet.”

“Alright.” Ray replied. “I also want to bring over a case file. I think I have something.”

Killian paused before saying, “That’s fine. Just don’t get any soup on them.”

“What do you take me for?” Ray joked, and after they shared a laugh, Ray hung up. He put the case file in his briefcase before securing the soup in some tupperware, and putting that in a bag. He also got a sandwich he made for LJ and put it in there. He put on his coat and shoes, grabbed the briefcase, bag, and his keys, and after he locked the door, he headed out.

Once he got to the library, he spotted some of LJ’s friends there. He also spotted LJ sitting by himself, staring intently at a piece of paper. Judging by a lack of textbooks and how he was hiding the contents of the page with his arm, Ray guessed it wasn’t homework.

“Hi Ray.” Dada greeted.

LJ turned to look at him and waved. “Hi Uncle Ray.”

“Hello Dada, LJ.” Ray said, walking over to his nephew and handing him his sandwich. “Just in case you get hungry.”

“Thanks.” LJ said as he accepted the sandwich. “Is it time to go?”

“Not yet.” Ray said. “I’ve got to talk to Killian about something.” He then tried to peak at the notes, but LJ kept it hidden. “What are you working on?"

“Just some personal stuff.” LJ told him.

 _That’s not suspicious at all_ , Ray thought, and he made a mental note to worry about that later. “Alright then. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you.” LJ replied.

Ray walked up to Killian’s apartment, and knocked on the door.

Soon, Phoebe opened it, and from the shoes and the coat she wore, as well as the backpack, he guessed that she was about to leave. “Oh, hi Ray.”

“Hi Phoebe.” Ray said. “Is Killian in here?”

“Yep.” Phoebe said before shouting to the apartment, “I’m just going downstairs! Ray’s here!”

“Alright!” Killian shouted back.

Soon, Phoebe left the apartment to go downstairs, and Ray entered.

“It’s me.” Ray said as he closed the apartment door behind him.

“Ray.” Killian said as he stepped out of the bedroom and approached him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise.” Ray said before holding up the bag with the soup. “I’ve got some homemade soup if you’re still interested.”

“Yes, please.” Killian said as he accepted the soup, and placed it on the kitchen counter. “You didn’t have to, but thank you.”

“Ah, it was nothing.” Ray told him as he set the briefcase on the kitchen counter. “I remember when LJ got the flu when he was nine. That soup was probably the only thing he could eat for days given how upset his stomach got with everything else.”

Just then, Mai came out, looking a little better than she had lately. “Hi, Mr. LJ’s uncle.” Mai greeted him.

Ray chuckled at her innocence. “Hi Mai. You can just call me Ray.”

“Hi Mr. Ray.” Mai amended.

Ray noticed how Killian still looked at Mai with concern, and felt some pride at his friend's paternal instincts.

Killian lifted Mai up to sit her on a stool, and he helped her start eating. She seemed to have improved from the vomiting and lack of appetite she’d gone through before. While Killian helped Mai eat, Ray began to take out the files and order them.

Once she was finished and cleaned up, and allowed to play with Lady on the floor, Ray brought the files over the kitchenette counter. Killian glanced over to keep an eye on Mai, Ray began quietly explaining the importance of the photos.

“In this photo, the time between Regina leaving Henry at home without supervision and then returning home is five hours.” Ray explained as he pointed to the timestamps of one of the last photos Freddie took.

“Looks like it’s not the only time.” Killian muttered, and Ray saw an angry look on his face.

Ray nodded in understanding. “I think this will definitely help our case for neglect, but it would help if we could prove that she presents a clear danger to Henry.”

“How is this not a clear danger to him?” Killian asked incredulously.

Ray swiftly replied, “Because any lawyer she hires will argue that she works long hours to provide him a good home. She’s also the mayor, and...look I’m optimistic about proving she’s not the best parent, but I’d just feel more comfortable if we had something…more concrete.”

Killian had a look on his face that showed that he understood, but he wasn’t quite happy about this. He then sighed with, “At least it’s something.”

Ray clapped his hand on Killian’s shoulder. “We _will_ find something. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that Regina’s overconfident. She’ll slip up eventually, and that’s what we’ll get her for.” He then added with a meaningful look, “You’ll get to keep your promise to Emma.”

Killian seemed to take some comfort in that, and simply nodded.

Ray then looked around, and smiled as he found Mai playing enthusiastically with Lady on the floor.

Killian did the same, and Ray saw a fond smile on the man’s weary face. He recognized it as the look on his own face whenever he looked at LJ. The way his heart seemed to lighten whenever he looked at his so- at the boy that he raised.

“She seems to be improving.” Ray commented.

“Mhmm.” Killian hummed, and when he noticed Mai looking at them curiously, he added teasingly, “You’ll be ready to go back to school, won’t you?”

Mai’s eyes widened in dismay before she gave an unconvincing cough. “I’m sick.”

“Darn.” Killian snapped his fingers in a playfully disappointed way. “Then I guess you won’t be well enough for the cake at Dada’s birthday party.

Mai hastily said, “Yeah I can. I feel better.”

“That’s what I thought.” Killian told her.

“When’s Dada’s birthday supposed to be?” Ray asked.

“On the 22nd.” Killian said. “She doesn’t want anything big. I had to convince her that it would be alright to have a small party at all.”

“Not much of a party person, is she?” Ray asked.

“No.” Killian said with a shake of his head. “And it’s okay, but...she doesn’t seem to see her own birthday as a big deal. The way she tried to dodge it just didn’t sit right with me. Though I will respect her wishes to make it small. I just want to make sure it’s alright.”

“You’ll do fine.” Ray promised him. “Give yourself some credit. You seem to have everything together.”

“If you say so.” Killian said a touch nervously.

“You do. You’re a good boss, a good dad…” and then, because he just couldn’t help himself, he leaned over to whisper, “possibly an excellent lover.”

“ _Ray_.” Killian said scandalized, glancing over at Mai who was blissfully unaware of anything, and that caused Ray to burst out laughing.

“What is it?” Mai asked curiously.

“Nothing, sweetheart.” Killian said with a hasty smile sent her way, sending a covert glare Ray’s way. “Ray is just being too silly.”

“Oh man.” Ray gasped out as he tried to control his laughter. “Oh that was too easy. Maybe like-”

“You’re a lawyer, think very carefully about what you say next.” Killian warned him even as a blush crept up his neck.

This, of course, did nothing to abate Ray’s laughter. Despite the serious conversation that had preceded it, it was nice to know that Ray could find his laughs from a close friend.

* * *

“I just don’t understand.” Mary Margaret sobbed over her drink, and _damn_ if the sound didn’t hurt to hear.

When Emma had gotten back to the loft, she had found Mary Margaret crying at the kitchen counter with a bottle of whiskey. She gotten the gist story through Mary Margaret’s sobs. So far, it seemed that David was the only other person outside of the people who suspended Mary Margaret who knew what happened.

“I’ve worked at that school for as long as I can remember.” Mary Margaret cried, her eyes watery and her voice wobbly. “All I know is teaching. What am I going to do now?”

“Hey, it’s…” Emma trailed off, frantically trying to figure something to say. “I mean, maybe we can call Ray, figure something out.”

Mary Margaret let out a sob. “That’s what David said, but-” Mary Margaret sobbed again.

Emma stuttered out, “Well, um...we’ll figure something out.”

Mary Margaret tried to say something, but she just continued to sob. Emma was at a loss for what to say, so she awkwardly tried to pat her on the back. In a flash, Mary Margaret reached over to hug Emma. Because she wasn’t a monster, Emma held her back.

“It’s gonna be fine.” Emma told her. “It’s _all_ going to be fine. I promise.”

Mary Margaret couldn’t give a coherent response, and just clung on tighter. Emma just held her until finally her shoulders stopped shaking, and Mary Margaret was able to collect herself enough to pull away and wipe at her tears.

“What am I going to do?” Mary Margaret asked again, this time quietly and in an exhausted tone.

“First thing you can do is get changed and go to bed.” Emma said, taking note of darkening sky. “Then tomorrow when you’re, well better,” and by that, Emma meant ‘sober’, “we can work from there.”

Mary Margaret didn’t seem to have any fight left in her, and simply nodded her head.

The sight of Mary Margaret’s defeated look made Emma feel sick. Here was the woman who had opened her home to Emma, who basically Emma’s _rock_ , and she looked so damn defeated.  
  
Emma wished she knew someway to get Mary Margaret's job back, but she didn't know what. All she did know for certain was that Mary Margaret did not hurt Henry and never could hurt him.

“Look…” Emma initially trailed off as she tried to use her words widely. “We both know that you’d never hurt Henry. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was Regina just trying to hurt you.” And if so, Regina was going to catch a new wave of hell from Emma. “I mean, it’s not like she can actually accuse you of anything. No matter how much Henry might be worried about her, he wouldn’t lie about you.”

Mary Margaret tried and failed to form a smile. “I think-” Mary Margaret cleared her throat to steady her wobbly and rough voice. “I think I’m just going to head to bed early.”

“You sure?” Emma asked.

Mary Margaret simply nodded before slowly getting off the stool. She waited a moment to steady herself before walking towards her bed, silently getting ready to turn in.

Emma’s heart went out to her. It took a great deal of self control to remain outwardly calm in the face of Mary Margaret’s misery. It took about the same amount of control not to break down Regina’s door for doing this to her friend.

Emma sighed as a headache began to form and grow. It wasn’t even that late and already she felt exhausted. Maybe it would be a good idea for her to turn in as well. Maybe tomorrow she’d have a better idea of what to do.

* * *

_February 21, 2012_

August was good at lying. When stuck in a Land Without Magic where lying didn’t land him with an elongated nose, it was fairly simply. That’s why, when Dada and her boyfriend came by Granny’s Diner the morning after Valentine's Day, he had claimed that he didn’t remember anything from his night of heavy drinking.

 _Are we friends?_ , he had asked her, and still he winced at his alcohol-induced lapse in judgement. He’d shown more vulnerability than he should have. Hell, he had gotten drunker than he should have.

Even now he felt embarrassed at how he was trying to avoid Dada, in spite of how they didn’t see each other often anyway. Or maybe it was embarrassment over his lack of control. Not that he’d ever had much of that in the first place.

If he were completely honest with himself - an unpleasant feeling in and of itself - drinking had helped distract him from the stress that had been building beneath the surface since he’d come to town. He needed to get Emma to believe, but so far he’d come up with absolutely nothing to get the ball rolling.

The fact that he hadn’t been there to guide Emma like he promised his papa only compounded his guilt. How could he ever face his father again knowing that he’d failed? August would lie awake at night wondering just how ashamed his papa would be.

His papa was such a kindhearted man, one who would do anything for his friends. Learning that his son was the opposite of that would only make him disappointed.

And yet August remained static. He remained in a constant stage of failing to improve that it was almost laughable. Oh he had tried to improve himself in the past, tried to become a better man, but sooner or later he’d slide back into his old habits.

August shook his head, reminding himself to not look took down as he walked about town. He even smiled at a few passerbys, who smiled back at him pleasantly.

 _Enough feeling sorry for yourself_ , August thought. _You’ve got one last good chance to make up for that. Don’t blow it now._

Hiding a wince at the stiffness of his leg, which was becoming more wooden as time went on, August also thought, _This might also be the last chance I’ll ever get._

* * *

Killian watched his girls with amusement. With Mary Margaret’s suspension, Mai - with her big heart - decided that they needed to make the teacher a gift. The birdhouse was Phoebe’s idea, since it was well known that Mary Margaret had an affinity for birds. Of course, since they were actually building a functional birdhouse, Killian and Phoebe were supervising the actual building with nails.

Now that that was done, Mai was excited to get it painted.

There was a knock on the door.

Killian walked over, opening the door to find Emma and Henry.

Inviting Henry over to help with the project had also been Mai’s idea.  

“Hey.” Emma said, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips.

Killian briefly closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss before they pulled away, mindful of the 10-year-old boy watching them. “Hey yourself.” He told Emma before he turned to Henry. “How are you feeling Henry?”

“Okay.” Henry said with a shrug.

Killian and Emma shared a concerned look. Henry hadn’t exactly taken Mary Margaret’s suspension well. He didn’t talk much about it, but Killian knew that Henry blamed himself for what had happened, no matter how much Killian and Emma tried to set him straight.

Before Killian could invite them in, a there was a yip as Lady went to greet their guests.

“Hi Lady.” Henry said, giving her a little smile as he kneeled down to pet her. “How- _oomph_!” M

Henry barely kept himself balanced when Mai launched herself at Henry, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Hi Henry!” She greeted enthusiastically.

“Mai, what did I say?” Killian admonished as he extracted her from Henry. “You have to be gentler when you hug people. Now what do you say?”

“Sorry.” Mai told Henry, but not a second later she went over to hug Emma’s leg, albeit with a greater amount of care than before. “Hi Emma.”

Emma smiled down at her as she brushed away some of her hair. “Hi there. You excited to get that birdhouse done?”

“Uh huh!” Mai nodded enthusiastically.

Killian chuckled, and gestured for Emma and Henry to come in. As they did so, Killian realized that Emma was holding a book in one of her hands. With a small start, he realized that it was Liam’s book, the one he’d given her as a Christmas present.

Closing the door and locking it, Killian turned and found the three kids huddled around the birdhouse. And from the looks of it, it hadn’t taken long for the first argument to bubble up.

“It should have a bird on it.” Mai argued with Henry.

"Birds can get territorial." Henry said. "If they see a bird on it, they might not use the birdhouse."

“Or they want to make a new friend.” Mai said resolutely.

“Or, again, someone to fight with.” Henry replied. “Maybe we could put flowers on it?”

“Or trees.” Phoebe added, though it seemed that she wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation and just added her two cents without much thought.

Emma leaned closer to Killian. "Should we step in?"

Killian immediately shook his head. “If we intervene right now, they’ll think we’re siding with the other.” He told her. “I learned that the hard way when Phoebe and Mai were arguing about what we should have for dinner today. Best let them sort it out. For now."

Emma nodded, if a little hesitantly.

Eventually, the kids did come to a compromise. Henry would get his flowers, Mai would get some bird feathers, and there was even a tree in there.

Meanwhile, Emma and Killian were in the kitchenette having coffee.  
  
"I just don't know what to do." Emma sighed. "I've tried talking to her, but losing her job has hit her hard."

“Has she been able to get out of the loft yet?” Killian asked concernedly.

Emma shook her head. "She’s too worried that someone will say something, which given how fast people turn here, it isn’t exactly unfounded.”

Killian conceded to her point. After all, the whims of the towns people could be fickle at best. Still… “It’s not good for her to be cooped up all day.”

“I know that.” Emma said impatiently before sighing. “Sorry, it’s just...god this sucks.”

Killian nodded, wanting to tell Emma about what he and Ray had found, but worrying that it might give her too much hope without enough payoff. He definitely didn't want to give her false hope.

Instead, he said, “We’ll figure something out.”

“It better be soon.” Emma said, though more to herself than to him, and definitely with a hint of aggression he believed was aimed at Regina.

Killian looked down at the book, which was near Emma’s hand, and he couldn’t help but say nervously, “So...is this the part where you tell me you actually hate it?”

“What?” Emma asked confusedly before she saw what he was looking at. She then quickly added, “No, no, I like it. I just thought…” She trailed off with a nervous shrug. “I just thought you might want it back so you can read to Mai. I know kids her age like being read stories, so…”

“Emma, it was a gift.” Killian said with a bemused smile. "You can't just give back a gift."

“I know that.” Emma said with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. “Then maybe just borrow or something.”

“Or, you could read it to her yourself.” Killian said without thinking.

Before either of them could think too much about the implications, Mai called over, “Daddy, look!”

Killian put down his coffee and went over to see how it was going. “It’s very nice.” He commented honestly before grabbing a nearby paper towel, and trying to gently wipe away from paint that had gotten one Mai’s cheek.

Mai didn’t seem too keen on this. “Daddy, I’m painting.” She whined.

“The birdhouse, not yourself.” He told her as he successfully wiped the paint away, though he got the feeling that more incidents may come.

He glanced back at Emma, who was watching him with a tender expression. His stomach fluttered, wondering just what she was thinking.

“Emma, want to paint?” Mai asked her hopefully, bringing Killian out of his reverie.

“Uh-” Emma started before Phoebe and Henry started clapping and chanting, “Paint, paint, paint, patin.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Settle already.” She told them before she turned to look at Mai. She then seemingly made up her mind and went over to them. “Sure. It's been a long time since I painted though, so I might be a bit rusty.”

 _Interesting,_ Killian thought, filing that information away for later.

“Where should I start?” Emma asked as she got a little brush, and Mai pointed to an unoccupied space. “Thanks. So, how’s school going?”

“Good.” Mai told her.

“Learn anything new?” Emma asked as she began painting.

“Um...I like...playtime.” Mai said thoughtfully.

“I see.” Emma said with an amused smile. “What about you Phoebe? How’s school going?”

“Fine I guess.” Phoebe said. “We just have to do a book report.”

“Good thing your dad’s a librarian.” Henry commented.

Killian immediately looked at Phoebe’s face, and to his thankful surprise, she shrugged indifferently to Henry referring to him as her dad. “I don’t know why, it just kind of feels like cheating.” Phoebe told Henry as she focused on creating the branches of her tree on the birdhouse.

“It's only cheating if I do the report for you.” Killian told her, shifting his position on the floor to make himself more comfortable.

“And you’d _never_ do anything like that, right?” Phoebe asked with an exaggerated fluttering of the eyes and hopeful tone.

Killian gave her a stern look which caused her to smirk.

Emma bit back a smile at the familial interaction.

“What about you Henry?” Phoebe asked a touch optimistically before hesitation took over, and yet she forced herself to ask, “So, uh, how’s the substitute?”

Henry’s expression dimmed as he shrugged. “He’s okay. I miss Mary Margaret though.”

Killian felt bad for the kid, as out of all the teachers Henry had had over the years, Mary Margaret was among his favorites, if not _the_ favorite.

Emma pursed her lips before she said, “When this thing is finished, maybe you can show it to her.”

There was a glimmer of hope in Henry’s eyes before he reluctantly said, “But my mom-”

“She’s mean.” Mai said before focusing on her painting again, her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth.

“Mai.” Killian started, not disagreeing with her but unwilling to deal with Regina somehow taking offense to it if she ever heard it.

“That's a polite way of describing her.” Phoebe snarked.

“Okay, let’s get off the subject of Regina.” Emma said with a final tone. “Henry, I will deal with Regina if it comes to that.”

Henry still looked worried before nodding silently.

It made Killian's blood boil to think that Regina would hurt Henry this way. He was just itching for the day the group could unleash their evidence against Regina. Then they would get Henry away from that woman, and safely with Emma.

Apparently sensing the tension in the room, Mai started, “Henry, you want- uh oh.” She had tried to hand Henry a brush with some pink paint on it, but the way she thrusted it in his direction resulted in pink paint landing on his cheek.

Henry, with a mischievous grin, dipped his fingers in some blue paint, and flicked it in her direction, with some of it landing on her chin. Both of them started to giggle.

“No, no.” Killian and Emma both started saying as they began batting their kids’ hands away from the paint.

“Use the paint like big kids, or you don’t paint.” Emma told them.

“Ugh, fine.” Henry said with an exaggerated roll of the eyes, though Killian saw that it was mainly for Mai’s benefit. Henry smiled when Mai started giggling again.

Killian smiled at their interaction, glad that the kids were getting along and Henry was smiling.

“Come on.” Emma told them after she wiped the paint off Henry’s cheek, earning a soft smile from him. “We have a birdhouse to finish.”

The kids agreed, and everyone got to work. Killian took in the scene and smiled to himself. This was a sort of calm he didn’t think he’d ever achieved, wondering if this was what it meant to have a home.

* * *

Regina was pleased. It was a small thing to take away Mary Margaret’s job. Regina had yet to take away Snow White’s True Love or her daughter, but it did some damage, and that made her smile.

Henry refused to speak to her, but Regina knew that he’d get over it eventually. He might even prefer his substitute over Mary Margaret.

The only reason Regina wasn’t completely content was because Gold had called her to his shop. Opening the door of his shop, she let it close behind her thoughtlessly as she saw the man at his desk. “This better be good, Gold. Believe it or not I don’t enjoy being summoned.”

The imp smiled at her. “But a _please_ brought you here nonetheless.”

“What do you want?” Regina asked impatiently, eager to get out of there.

“Such hostility.” Gold scoffed with a cold smile. “I bring some interesting news.”

“Unless it gives me a way to be free of Emma, I’m not interested.” Regina said, ready to walk out.

“Your choice, dearie.” Gold told her with a cool smirk.

So that was the game they were going to play, huh? Perhaps he was still angry at her for taking his little chipped teacup, or for forcing him to reveal that he was awake. Either way, it wasn’t her concern, but if he really did have information that could help or hurt her, perhaps it was to hear it now.

“Alright.” Regina said with a cool smirk of her own. “What exactly do you know?”

“That your main concern is keeping this curse intact.” Gold replied. “And thanks to you, something that could further weaken it is in town.”

“Who?” Regina asked, her smirk disappearing in favor of an arched eyebrow. How many problems would she have to deal with?

“Someone with quite a grudge against you.” Gold said before giving a small, hollow laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry. That includes far too many people. Let me narrow it down. Who did you bring with you that would have a way to _remember_ why they hate you?”

Regina immediately thought that the answer would be no one. After all, the whole point of the curse was that no one would get a happy ending but her, because she was the only one...who remembered. But that wasn’t strictly true, was it? Gold knew, but she doubted he’d waste his time pointing the finger at himself. Who else knew? Who else could possibly-

Wait…dammit there was one person who fit that description, and in a low voice Regina surmised, “Jefferson.”

“Took you long enough.” Gold said.

"I hear he has a girlfriend now.” Regina commented in a bored tone, though in truth she felt nervous. Any mention of the curse breaking tended to bring that out in her. “That little twit that works at the library. I guess he finally got over the dead wife.”

“Indeed.” Gold replied. “And yet that twit may also prove to be a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Regina asked.

“The girl has a connection to the pirate, who in turn has a connection to Emma.” He said plainly. “If Jefferson were to feel so inclined, he might use that connection to try and help the Savior break the curse.”

Regina said, “Then I guess I’ll just have to get rid of them.”

“Like you tried to rid yourself of the sheriff and Mr. Jones?” Gold questioned, which erased any trace of a smile from Regina’s face. “You’ve already failed in two presumed murder attempts. Are you really going to add a third and fourth failed attempt?”

“I’ll just have to make sure they succeed, won’t they?” Regina challenged.

“So the first two were done without hope for success?” Gold mocked. “Even if you did manage to succeed, the sheriff and Deputy Swan would have to investigate. If by some miracle they found nothing linking you to the crime, there’d always be that suspicion. That little voice in their head telling them that it was you. And after the mess with the Holtzer boy and Ms. Blanchard’s suspension, how likely is it that they’d _want_ to suspect it was you?”

Regina felt her face flush with rage. “Then what do you suggest I do?”

“I gave you the information.” Gold said. “What you decide to do with it falls on you.”

* * *

Some time after he'd finish his shift, Graham decided to head over to visit Freddie at the hospital. Declan was at Nancy's again, and Graham honestly felt so grateful for Nancy's help. He felt bad that she looked after Declan so often, but it helped that she volunteered to do it.

Honestly, it made him want to kiss her every time that he saw her.

Graham eventually arrived at Freddie's room, and knocked at the door.

The man looked at him in surprise, though he was looking a right side better than he did the night he was brought in. “Graham, hi.” Freddie greeted him.  

"Hello, Freddie." Graham greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Freddie said. “The doctor said I can leave tomorrow.”

“That’s great.” Graham said. He then took note of the worried look on Freddie’s face. “What is it?’

Freddie seemed surprised by his question. “I just thought you were about to tell me something bad.” At Graham’s confused silence, Freddie added, “Usually when a police officer comes to my hospital room, they’re about to tell me some bad news.” Then, more resignedly he asked, “Did the judge dismiss the charges against Gold?”

“You pressed charges?” Graham asked.

“Well, kind of.” Freddie said awkwardly. “Yeah. I mean...I get that there’s not much of a point, but Ray came by a little earlier saying he’d do it pro bono. But it’s Gold, so practically everyone thinks that I’m crazy for even trying to press charges.”

"You're not crazy." Graham said firmly. "Going against Gold is very brave."

Freddie looked at him silently before nodding a little, but he didn’t exactly seem reassured. “So...why are you here?” Freddie asked. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but is this official business?”

“Actually, no.” Graham told him. “It’s a social visit. I wanted to see how you were holding up.”

“Oh.” Freddie said, a bit surprised. “Well, thank you.”

Graham smiled shyly. “Listen, I know we don’t spend as much time together as we should, but I wanted you to know that if you need anything, I’ve got your back.”

Freddie brightened up at that. “Thank you. And, if you need anything from me, I’ll have your back too.” Then, he added more mischievously, “So will Missy.”

“Missy?” Graham asked curiously.

“My cat.” Freddie said before taking note of the look on Graham’s face. “What’s wrong?” Freddie asked suspiciously but with a touch of amusement.

“I’m more of a dog person.” Graham admitted with a nonchalant shrug.

Freddie paused for a moment before saying, “Well, our friendship’s over.”

“Hey!” Graham protested lightly as Freddie laughed. Graham couldn’t help but laugh too as he added, “I’ll have you know that I have a boy in my home who had an egg in his possession. I’m very open minded.”

“How dare you compare cats to anything that can lay an egg.” Freddie said jokingly. “I am offended, I say, offended!”

“Are we going to be better friends or what?” Graham chuckled.

“Hmmm.” Freddie hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully for good measure. “Well it may take some time, but I think we can work something out.”

“Fair enough.” Graham said. “Again, I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“I’m glad you stopped by." Freddie said softly. "It's always nice to know that people care."

“Of course.” Graham said. “Now, when you get out of here, what’s the first thing you’re going to do as a free man?”

Freddie opened his mouth to answer before something apparently came to mind. He thought about it for a bit before saying, “Figuring out why an ‘Exit’ door needs a code.”

“I’m sorry?” Graham asked bemusedly.

“There’s one in the hospital.” Freddie said. “No one can tell me why that is.”

“That’s...strange.” Graham said. _And against just about every emergency safety regulation I can think of._

Graham wondered if he should look into that. For now, he asked, “Anything else?”

“Um...not sure.” Freddie answered. “I have to try to get back to work as soon as possible. I don’t want to seem like I’m slacking off.”

“You were assaulted by Gold, I think your boss will understand.” Graham told him.

“Still.” Freddie shrugged.

“As your friend, I forbid you from overextending yourself.” Graham said.

“You’re really pulling the friend card here?” Freddie asked.

“Yes.” Graham said. “Yes I am.”

Freddie sighed. “Alright, fine. I promise not to overextend myself.”

Graham gave him a look. “Truly, I felt that right here.” He said as he pointed at the left side of his chest.

“Okay, _Mom_ , I get it.” Freddie said with a friendly roll of his eyes.

 _"_ Oi!” Graham admonished, though he couldn’t commit to the serious face he had tried to put on.

Freddie chuckled. "Sorry, you just look so old and wise.”

"Ouch." Graham pressed at his chest in mock pain. "That one hurt."  
  
That's when a nurse came in. "I’m sorry, but visiting hours are almost over."

Graham nodded as the nurse left.

When he turned to Freddie, the man said, “Probably the third time I’ve said this, but thanks for visiting me. I can’t wait to get out of here.”  
"We can't wait for you to be out of here too." Graham said. "Remember, no overexerting yourself."

“Scout’s Honor.” Freddie said. “Even though I was never a scout.”

Graham rolled his eyes but waved nonetheless. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Freddie told him.

Graham left the room, and went to pick up Declan, ready to get them both home.

* * *

Things...had been going right for Dada lately. Online courses were going well, she had a friend in Ruby, Killian was better now, and Dada actually had a boyfriend. She had been in such a good mood lately that she’d actually let Killian talk her into having a small birthday party. She and Jefferson would have something just to them later that same day, but he still hadn’t told her what. For once, Dada found that she was anticipating a surprise rather than dreading it.

Usually her birthday was a low point of the year, namely because her parents were no longer with her, but for the first time in a long time, Dada didn’t feel so lonely.

It was a good feeling. All she needed to do was get inside her apartment with no fuss, then everything would be fine.

When she spotted Mayor Mills walking towards her, Dada wondered if she somehow thought about that too hopefully. She did not want to have to deal with this woman, not after everything she’d heard about what she’d done. Dada tried not to make eye contact, hoping to pass by the mayor without incident, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“Dada, right?” Mayor Mills asked with smile, one that made Dada feel wary.

“Yes.” Dada answered, forcing a smile on her face. “Good evening, Madam Mayor.”

“Oh please, it’s Regina.” She told her before looking at the empty street, the dark night only lit by the streetlights. “Where are you going?”

“I’m just going home, May- Regina.” Dada amended the name once she saw the look Regina gave her.

“Do you mind if I walk with you?” She asked. “I’d feel more comfortable with that than let you walk home alone. Anything could happen, especially with that mugger still on the loose.”

Dada thought about turning her down, but her nerves got the best of her. “Um, I guess that’s okay.”

“Perfect.” Regina said as she went to stand next to Dada. “Shall we?”

Dada silently nodded, and they began to walk in the direction of her apartment. It was unnerving to walk side by side with the mayor, especially with that chilling smile she was wearing. She highly doubted the mayor did this with everyone. Why her?

"So, you work at the library, correct?" Regina asked.  
  
"Yeah." Dada nodded.  
  
"My son goes there for tutoring." Regina said.

“Henry.” Dada replied. Maybe this was her way of checking in on him. “He’s a really bright kid. You should be proud.”

“Oh I am.” Regina told her. “"What about you? You're taking online classes, right?"  
  
The fact that the mayor knew something personal about her gave Dada an uneasy feeling. “Um, yes?” Dada said before saying more certainly, “Yes.”

“With the help of your old counselor.” Regina continued. “Mrs. Durand?”

“Mhmm.” Dada said, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. She then tried to get them off topic by saying, “I’m surprised you know so much about me.”

“I make it a point to know as much about my citizens as I can.” Regina replied.

 _Yeah that’s not creepy at all,_ Dada scoffed to herself, though she didn’t dare make an actual sound. Instead she told Regina, “You really didn’t need to walk with me.”

"Nonsense," Regina said. "I take my job as mayor very seriously. I would hate to think that anything could happen to you while I was around.”

 _Somehow having you around doesn’t make me feel any better,_ Dada suddenly thought. “It was...very kind of you, Regina.”

Regina paused before asking, “Do I make you nervous, Dada?”

“What, no.” Dada immediately denied. “This whole thing is just kind of unexpected is all. Not that I’m not grateful for it.”

“I’m just glad I was here.” Regina said. “Do you usually walk home alone?”

“Yes, but I always make it home fine.” Dada told her.

“No family to pick you up?” Regina questioned, and as Dada winced, she took on an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to bring it up.”

Dada didn’t say anything, as she was too busy trying to discreetly swallow the lump in her throat. She simply looked away, glad that her apartment was only a couple of blocks away. “We’re almost there. I think I can make the rest of the way on my own.”

“Are you sure?” Regina asked.

“I’m sure.” Dada told her, eager to get out of there. “Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble.” Regina replied. “If you ever feel unsafe, feel free to call my office. I’d love to help you.”

“Thank you.” Dada repeated. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Dada.” Regina said, and with that Dada quickly made her way to her apartment, stuck with a gut feeling that she didn’t want to be alone with Regina again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Mary Margaret :( She really can’t catch a break. 
> 
> And I wonder what happened to make Kathryn and David lose a few hours. Something nefarious? >:)
> 
> Plus the kids seem to be heading in the right direction.
> 
> I mean wow, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter. I would love to know what you thought about it. 
> 
> See you same time next week!


	23. The Girl in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the book is stolen, secrets are revealed, and we learn how Rapunzel and Morgana met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this chapter, there is a character named “Basil”. This character’s name is pronounced “Basile”/”Bazile”. Just thought you ought to know.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing canon, only my own OCs. 
> 
> Another Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, never studied law beyond one (1) high school course and one (1) college course, so sorry about potential inaccuracies. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 21, 2012_

A singular thought swirled around in Henry’s mind - _The book is gone!_

He’d looked everywhere for it. He’d practically ransacked his own room trying to find it until his mom forced him to get on the school bus.

 _Everything’s fine_ , Henry told himself as he moved with the line at lunch. _I just...need to look through my room again. If it’s not there, then it’s probably at the library. If not…_

“Crap.” Henry whispered to himself. “Crap, crap.”

“Henry?” Nick asked from his place behind Henry. “You okay?”

Henry turned his head to look at Nick before shrugging with a frown. “Just worried about my book.”

Nick tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Maybe you left it at the library?”  
  
“I don’t think I did…” Henry trailed off, trying to remember if maybe he did forget it there. Maybe he did? _Did he?_

As Henry finally got to the front of the line and began getting some food, he turned his head to find that Ava, Paige, and LJ were speaking to each other in hushed tones. When Paige caught Henry looking at them, she whispered something to the others, and they pretended as if they weren’t doing anything. Henry couldn’t ponder on that long since he was being urged to hurry up and get his food already.

His mind went back to the book. Deep down, he didn’t think that his mom took the book. After all, she seemed pretty surprised that it was gone too.

Maybe Emma had seen it somewhere. Or he could have even left it at the library. Everything would be okay as long as he found the book.

Henry exited the line once he got what he wanted, and as he walked to his table, he saw Ava, Paige, and LJ whispering to each other again. He wondered what it was they were talking about.

He was looking around for a place to sit when he spotted Declan sitting alone, and he felt a pang in his heart. He’d missed Declan. They hadn’t spoken a lot in so long, but his guilt over what happened and Declan practically running away from him didn’t help things. Maybe...maybe he could just sit there for a quick second. Just for this lunch if Declan didn’t take off.

He wanted his friend back.

So, Henry went over, and sat next to Declan, surprising the other boy.

“How’ve you been?” Henry greeted without preamble.

Declan looked around warily. “Okay.” He said quietly, looking at Henry as if wondering why he was there.

Henry had to admit, that hurt a little. “That’s good. We haven’t hung out in a while.”

“I don’t think we should hang out now.” Declan retorted, now looking away with him.

 _Okay, that definitely stung_ , Henry thought. He couldn’t help but say, “I’m sorry about what my mom did, but you’re my friend.”

Declan said nothing to that.

Henry felt his sadness turn into frustration. “You can’t just ignore me forever.”

That caused Declan to whip his head at him, and there Henry saw a play of frustration and _fear_ on Declan’s face. “And what? I just wait until your fucking evil mom locks me in another closet? So that she can lie and send me to jail?”

“She won’t do that.” Henry said, seconds away from saying that he and Emma would protect him, but Declan wouldn’t allow that.

“Why not?” Declan asked in an exasperated tone. “You’re the one who calls her the Evil Queen. She _is_ evil, but she’ll take me away from Graham if we hang out again.”

“She said that?” Henry asked, his frustration transforming into anger that flushed his cheeks.

Declan paused for a moment before quietly admitting, “She did. She said if I screwed up again, she’d make sure I ended up in a place like the closet for the rest of my life.”

Henry began to grind his teeth in anger. It was bad enough that she already had to hurt his friend, now she threatened him to stay away? She was ruining everything! She hurt his friend, she didn’t love him, she made him feel crazy.

 _Screw her_ , Henry thought, _Just...just…_

“Fuck her!” He nearly shouted with anger in his voice.

Declan reared back in shock as he heard some kids gasp from a table nearby.

“Ooh, I’m telling.” Someone said immaturely, causing Henry’s cheeks to now burn in embarrassment.

Immediately, Declan leaned back and pointed to someone behind Henry to say, “Shut the fuck up, Tracy, or I’ll tell people about what happened behind the bench.”

This caused the person at the other table to sputter as Declan looked at Henry, whose hands were now balled into fists.

“I…” Declan trailed off. “I...don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. I mean...holy shit, dude.”

Henry was sure his face was as red as a tomato. “I don’t care anymore.” He told Declan in a fiery tone. Then, to prove his point, he rambled, “Fuck. Shit. Shit damn fuck.”

Declan’s jaw dropped.

“I hate her.” Henry said in a wobbly tone. “She hurt you. She ruins everything and pretends to love me.”

“Whoa, dude, easy.” Declan said soothingly as he slung an arm around Henry’s shoulders. “Drink your milk.”

“It’s not-” Henry interrupted himself, feeling himself getting more and more upset. He reluctantly accepted his milk from Declan, and only drank it because he was seconds away from throwing it down in a rage. He’d never been this upset before, and it scared him.

“Yeah.” Declan said quietly. “It...sucks when you realize how shitty your parents are.”

Henry looked over at Declan, and found nothing but understanding in his eyes. “I won’t let her hurt you.” Henry promised.

Declan shook his head. “She said-”

“I don’t care what she said.” Henry told him firmly. “I’ll tell Emma.”

“You can’t.” Declan said with worried eyes.

“I will.” Henry said in a softer tone. “She’s the Savior, and a hero. Most of the adults we know are heroes too. My mom’s a villain, and she can’t face them all alone.”

Declan deflated a little, probably not reassured by Henry’s choice of words.

So, Henry decided to switch tactics. “Emma’s the Deputy, your dad’s the Sheriff, and Ray’s a lawyer too. My mom’s the mayor but she can’t beat them all, can she?”

Declan stared at him in surprise. “My dad?”

“Yeah…” Henry trailed off, not getting what the problem was.

Declan shook his head. “Nothing. I don’t know. I mean I’m up for anything that’ll screw over over your evil mom, but…” Declan looked a little shaky, his eyes becoming distant as he seemed to remember something.

Henry was aware of the arm that was still around his shoulders. He hugged Declan. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Declan hesitated for a bit, and Henry wondered if he should let go before Declan asked, “Promise?”

Henry held onto him tighter. “Promise.”

After another moment of hesitation, Declan hugged him back.

Someone from another table ‘awww’ed’, and Henry felt Declan move one of his arms as if pointing outward.

After a second, Henry guessed, “You’re flipping them off?”

Declan brought that arm back to hug Henry again, “Not anymore.”

* * *

“Remember, Mary Margaret needs an emotional pickup,” David said as he walked Copper and a couple of other dogs towards the isolated lake. Missy was at the shelter being looked after by another employee, as she and Copper didn’t exactly get along. He then directed his next comment towards Copper. “You’re going to be absolutely adorable, and well behaved. Understand?”  
  
Copper just continued walking, though he did get distracted by a nearby twig.

"Copper, this is a very important mission." David reminded him. “And Mary Margaret really likes you, so do your part.”

Copper barked a little, so he took that as a sign that Copper would...be Copper.

Soon enough they arrived at the lake. Mary Margaret stood near the shore, looking out at the still frozen lake.

Copper barked excitedly as soon as he saw her.

Mary Margaret turned around, and gave a little smile to David before she sent one Copper’s way. “Hi.” Mary Margaret told them as she walked towards them, though without that little skip in her step that David deeply missed.

Copper strained against his leash to get to Mary Margaret, who closed the distance and allowed the puppy to paw at and rub against her legs.

She wasn't bending down to pet him though, and that worried David.

Copper jumped up a bit to press his front paws against her knee, and whined as he wagged his tail.

“How are you feeling?” David asked gently.

Mary Margaret looked at him. She opened her mouth to say something, probably some reassurance, but she couldn’t quite admit to it. In the end, she said, “I’m not feeling the best.”

David tried to smile reassuringly. “That’s why I’ve brought you Copper. He’s missed you.”

Mary Margaret's lips twitched like they wanted to smile, but she wouldn't let them.

David bent down to pick Copper up, and then brought the pup to eye level with Mary Margaret. “I missed you.” David said in a high pitched voice.

At last, Mary Margaret gave a smile, and gently shook one of Copper’s paws. “I missed you too.”

Copper leapt forward, licking at Mary Margaret's face.

Mary Margaret laughed “Okay, okay.” Her hands went up to control Copper, eventually taking him in her arms as he enthusiastically licked her chin, her cheek, and her neck.

David couldn’t help but smile. This was the first time he’d heard her laugh since she got the news of her suspension. _Thank you Copper,_ he thought happily.

Mary Margaret held Copper close as she said, “How come no one’s adopted you yet?”

"Maybe he's not meant for just anyone." David said. "Maybe he's meant for you." He didn't realize his double meaning until the words were already out in the open.

Mary Margaret looked at him in surprised before sadness tinged her features. “Well...upside of a suspension is that I have a lot of time for a pet now. Downside is that I don’t have any money to take care of him.

“I could help you.” David offered. “I could help with any expenses that you can’t cover.”

“David, I can’t ask you to do that.” Mary Margaret protested.

“You’re not asking me.” David told her. “I’m offering to do this, because I care about you.”

She looked uncertain.

“He _does_ need a good home.” David told her. “I know that can be you.”

“You’re probably the only one besides our group of friends that do.” Mary Margaret said self-deprecatingly, her eyes welling with tears. “Everyone thinks I hurt Henry.”

“No they don’t.” David told her. At her quiet scoff, he passionately added, “Maybe some people do, and that’s because they don’t care to check out facts for themselves, and that’s their loss. You’re an incredibly kind person, and that school council is filled with idiots.”

She flushed at his words, her expression vulnerable as she looked at him. She didn’t seem to know what to say.

David gently grasped her arms, mindful of the dogs that were looking at him curiously. “I believe in you Mary Margaret, and I believe that you deserve to be happy, and screw anyone that says otherwise.”

Her eyes glistened. “David, I…” Mary Margaret trailed off, and her eyes briefly drifted down to his lips.

Before David could say more, she leaned forward to press her lips against his. David’s eyes shut on their own volition, and his hands gently held onto her arms as their lips moved together. However gentle their movements were, they were vastly different from how fast and hard his heart was now beating.

He hadn’t know that he had been waiting for this kiss for a long time, and he didn’t want it to stop.

When the two finally pulled away, it was only because Copper began to protest being squished between them.

David and Mary Margaret laughed, and he couldn’t help but kiss her cheek. When he pulled back, he felt his face soften at the way she looked at him, at how warm her eyes had become.

He brought his hands up to try to cup her face, but he forgot that he still held the other leashes in his hands until the dogs protested. David laughed awkwardly as he brought his hands down.

Mary Margaret pursed her lips in a smile as she placed Copper down on the ground. She held onto his leash and asked, “You want to walk back together?”

David smiled as he nodded. “Sure. Oh by the way, Freddie’s getting out of the hospital today. I promised to pick him up. Do you want to come?”

Mary Margaret kindly replied, “I’d love to.” She and David then began their journey back to town with the dogs, making small talk and daring to walk closely together.

* * *

Emma just wanted to get something from Granny’s for her and Graham to have for lunch. Both of them were starving, and while she knew he would’ve liked to catch a glimpse at Nancy, he was also fairly exhausted trying to keep up with Declan and his job as sheriff. So, it was up to Emma to get them food.

Ruby spotted her almost immediately. "The usuals today, Emma?"

“You know me so well.” Emma joked as she went to sit at one of the counter stools.

Ruby smiled and wrote them down, before walking away.

Someone sat down beside her. "I need to report a crime."

Emma turned her head and found August looking at her with a smile. She returned it with a dry look. "What crime?"

"It's a crime that we haven't had that drink yet." August replied.

“Not your best work.” Emma commented with a look.

August gave her a mock affronted look. “We haven’t spoken in awhile. What would you know of my work?”

"I hope that's the only taste I get." She remarked dryly.

August gasped in fake shock. “I am...wounded Emma. Really I am.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Emma said with a roll of her eyes. Who did this guy think he was?

August looked at her for another moment before he said, “Look, we haven’t exactly talked a lot, and I was hoping to change that.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “How come? I’m sure you’ve met a lot of people here.”

“That is true.” August admitted. “There’s Ruby, Dada, and Mrs. Lucas. I just figured that since you were so suspicious of me when we met, I could help you solve the mystery.”

“What makes you think I’m interested?” Emma retorted.

August gave her a mysterious smile. “Because you’ve probably been wondering why I’m the only stranger that’s come into town since you’ve been here.”

He...had a point, a small one. “It’s a small town, and out of the way.” Emma told him.

“No place is _that_ out of the way.” August told her.

Emma refused to admit that he was right. She’d been in a few small towns in her time, this one included, and even the smallest town she’d been in had the occasional visitor. A family on a roadtrip, some wandering travelers like August, _somebody_. She’d been in Storybrooke for about four months now, and deep down she’d expected more than just one visitor in that time. Worse, no one could seem to give her a clear answer as to why this was. Each time she got a vague answer of ‘it’s out of the way’ or ‘Storybrooke isn’t that well known’ just annoyed her more and more.

August, damn him, looked at her like he knew he’d gotten to her. “Tell you what. How about you and I go out for a friendly drink some time?”

“How about not?” Emma said with a sardonic smile. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a boyfriend.”

“I’ve noticed.” August said airily. “That’s why I said _friendly_ drink.”

Emma scoffed. “Somehow, things with you don’t end in a _friendly_ way.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” August said as Ruby finally arrived with her food.

“Here you go.” Ruby said as she handed Emma a brown paper bag.

Emma took a look, smiling that everything was there. “Thanks,” she said to Ruby as she got up from her stool.

“What about that drink?” August asked.

“We’ll see.” Emma said, smiling sarcastically at him as she walked out of the diner, lunch bag in hand. She got into her Bug and drove away, ready to let this little conversation fade from her mind.

Unbeknownst to Emma and August, a tinge of jealousy began to fill Killian’s heart.

* * *

Jefferson whipped his head towards Dada. "She did what?"

She shifted in her seat on the bench they were sitting on, her gaze shifting between him and the ocean. “She just walked me to my apartment.” Dada told him, though she didn’t seem comforted by the prospect. “At first I didn’t think anything of it, but then she started talking about my college courses and Frances. It just made me feel awkward.”

"How does she even know you?" Jefferson asked harshly.

A furrow appeared on Dada’s brow as she defensively said, “Whoa, easy. I don’t know. She just cornered me.”

Jefferson reminded himself to keep calm, even though every alarm bell in his mind was blaring, as he said, “Sorry, it’s just...it seems weird.”

“You’re telling me.” Dada told him. “The weirdest part is that the whole time, I felt like I was under a microscope. Like she was evaluating everything I did, but she just kept this smile on her face the whole time.”

 _This isn’t good_ , Jefferson thought. Regina’s never shown the slightest bit of interest in Dada before. Why now? What could have possibly changed?

“It’s probably nothing to worry about.” Dada reassured him. “She probably wanted to pump me for information on Henry's tutoring sessions or something. From what I hear, she’s kind of controlling.”

 _You have no idea_ , Jefferson thought, though he said out loud “You’re probably right. It’s probably best if you try to avoid her.”

“Avoid the mayor?” Dada asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If at all possible.” Jefferson remarked dryly, trying not to allow any sort of rising panic to take hold. “I could walk you home from work from now on if you want.”

“I don’t know.” Dada said uncertainly. “You have to walk all the way to your house, and I wouldn’t want you to end up walking alone at night.”

“So it’s better if you walk alone at night?” Jefferson questioned.

Dada shrugged as though it wasn't a big deal.

She had no idea what kind of person Regina was, what kind of evil she was truly capable of. The worst part was that he couldn’t even warn her about it. He had to figure out what Regina wanted.

Dada looked at the watch on her wrist. “Uh oh, I’ve got to head back. We’ll do this later, yeah?”

Jefferson smiled. “Definitely.” He then closed his eyes when Dada leaned forward to kiss him in the lips, and as always he felt his heart skip a beat before it pumped faster. When they broke apart and he opened his eyes, he felt something inside him light up as he saw the shy yet happy look on her face. “Want me to walk you back?”

“Sure.” Dada said as they stood up, and then walked hand in hand back to the library. They made small talk until they reached the building.

Dada gave him a chaste kiss on the lips before heading in, looking back at him once before disappearing inside.

Jefferson watched her through the windows for a brief moment before heading back down the sidewalk.

“Lovely girl, isn’t she?” A voice startled him as he rounded the corner.

Jefferson found to his displeasure that it was Gold. “What’s it to you?” He asked.

Gold's raised a brow. "Just a mere observation."

“Oh, I’m sure.” Jefferson told him, his tone giving away that he absolutely didn’t believe him. He knew that Gold was awake. He’d been sure of that for some time. It was just in the way Gold moved and interacted with people. And yet, he knew that Gold loved playing his games, so just telling Jefferson that much wouldn’t be his way. Besides, Gold might not know that he was awake too.

At least, he hoped Gold didn't know.

“Well, not that this wasn’t fun, but I’ll be on my way.” Jefferson said before he began to walk away again.

Before he could take five steps, Gold replied, “Back to your hovel?”

Something about the words caused him to seize up. It took him a moment before he remembered that those were the exact words that Regina had said to him long ago. The first time she’d tried to convince him to work for her again. During his imprisonment in Wonderland, he’d replayed that moment over and over again, wanting to go back and change things, even deluding himself to believe he could before reality set it.

Jefferson turned around to Gold’s smug face, and he said, “I don’t know what you’re-”

“Oh that’s right.” Gold scoffed with a smile. “You no longer have a hovel, but the beautiful mansion Regina gifted you, though how much of a gift that is, well…”

 _Fuck_ , Jefferson thought. His blood ran cold when the realization hit. Gold knew that he was awake. Jefferson looked at Gold warily before scoffing in disbelief. “How long have you known?”

“For some time.” Gold said vaguely before he began walking away, the sound of his cane hitting the pavement causing Jefferson to flinch. “And unless you wish to arouse Regina’s suspicion by remaining in the open for long, I suggest we take this back to my shop.”

Jefferson didn't want to, but what choice did he have?

Soon enough, Jefferson and Gold entered his shop, where Jefferson dropped any pretense and got straight to the point.

“What do you want?” Jefferson asked the man as he limped over to his desk.

“What makes you think you have something I want?” Gold asked.

“Don’t bullshit me.” Jefferson said impatiently. “You’re never this direct unless you really want something. Now what do you want?”

Gold smirked. “All those years in Wonderland haven’t improved your temperament, I see.”

“What would you know about it?” Jefferson asked, and when Gold rapped at the corner of his eye, he sighed. “Of course. Your sight. Thanks for warning me, you bastard.”

“I only see things as they will be.” Gold said. “I can’t control them anymore than you can.”

“How about you see how this conversation will end so we can get there?” Jefferson retorted.

Gold nodded as if in understanding, though it was a false platitude. “Curious, isn’t it?” He asked. “Regina rarely looks beyond her own circle of people or enemies, and yet recently she’s set her sights on that girl in the library.”

A cold hand clamped over Jefferson’s heart, and in the back of his mind he he wondered if somehow Regina gained the ability to remotely tear someone’s heart out. He took a breath before saying, “You know something. What is it?”

Gold cooly replied, “Only that Regina seems to have it in her head that Ms. Meyer could prove a threat to her.”

Jefferson wanted to scoff, but he couldn’t with the sudden lump in his throat. “Why would Regina have to worry about her?” Jefferson asked.

“Why does Regina ever worry about anyone but herself?” Gold inquired.

Jefferson crossed his arms and stared at him suspiciously. “Well, I assume you know, but you won’t tell me. Not unless I give you something, right?”

Gold smirked patronizingly. "Now, why would you think that?"

Jefferson sighed. “Because you’re _you_ , and somehow you always know about these things. I’m not about to keep this runaround going with endless questions, so either answer a question, or I’ll leave.”

“Perhaps Dada isn’t the threat.” Gold suggested. “Perhaps Regina simply targeting Dada due to her....associates.”

Jefferson’s mind raced. _Does he mean Jones, or does he mean me?_ , he wondered. Regina never cared about Jefferson being awake before. Hell, the only reason he was like this was because of her. Feelings of guilt and fear swirled inside him as he feared that maybe something changed her mind.

He had to protect Dada.

Jefferson looked at Gold. “Unless you have any useful information to give me…”

Gold remained silent.

“Then we’re done here.” Jefferson said, and he soon walked out of the Gold’s shop, wondering what the hell he was going to do if Regina truly set her sights on Dada.

* * *

“You, sir, are a free man.” David said as Freddie took his first steps out of the hospital.

Freddie took in a deep breath through his nose, a smile on his face. “It’s nice to have fresh air again.”

"And soon, you will have actual food too." Mary Margaret said as stepped forward, Missy in her arms. Missy, for the most part, seemed fine with Mary Margaret. She just apparently protested to the smell of dog that was likely still on the woman.

That is likely why Missy practically leapt into Freddie’s arms the first chance she got, eagerly accepted by the man in question.

“Oh, Missy.” Freddie cooed as he petted the now purring kitten. He looked at David thankfully. “Thank you for looking after her.”

David shook his head. “No problem at all.” He then gestured to his truck. “Shall we?”

“Definitely.” Freddie said as the three of them got into the truck, ready to head out for something to eat.

On the drive there, Freddie turned to Mary Margaret and asked, “How are you feeling?”

Mary Margaret gave him a kind but bemused look. “You just left the hospital, and you’re asking _me_ if I’m okay.”

“I’m a considerate person.” Freddie joked as he petted Missy, who seemed determined to walk all over Freddie’s lap.

Mary Margaret seemed to appreciate Freddie's words. “I’m doing a little better.” She said, her eyes briefly glancing over to David before looking away.

David turned his eyes back to the road, unable to keep a little smile off his face. If he thought about it enough, he could still imagine the feeling of her lips against his, of his hands on her face. They hadn’t talked about it at length, and this did violate their promise to hold off until his divorce was finished, but deep down he was eager for the chance to kiss her again.

It didn’t take long before they arrived at Freddie’s apartment, and despite the fact that he was healed up enough to leave the hospital, he still seemed a little weak. David and Mary Margaret assisted Freddie in getting him inside his place.

Freddie seemed bashful at having people over. “Thanks.” He said shyly as he got to the couch in his apartment. He sat down with a groan and sigh, allowing himself to slump against it. He looked down at the seat cushion next to him, and found Missy clawing at it. “No, bad kitten.” Freddie said as he plucked up the kitten by the scruff of her neck before depositing her back on the floor. Not five seconds later, Missy managed to get back on the couch, and Freddie sighed. “I’m going to have to get you a scratching post soon.”

“Do you want us to get it?” Mary Margaret asked him. “We can go to the pet store, get some toys and cat food. We can even go out to get some groceries.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Freddie protested.

“We insist.” David said, stepping closer to stand next to Mary Margaret.

Freddie looked between them before sighing with a chagrined smile. “Well...I guess it’s alright.”

“Yes it is.” Mary Margaret said resolutely with a smile on her face.

“What else will you and Missy need?” David asked.

“Um…” Freddie trailed off before listing off the different things he could think of that Missy would need for food and toys. Only after that was done did he think about what he might need in his fridge. “Oh, I better check that.” He said as he prepared to get up.

“No need.” Mary Margaret said, already heading to the kitchenette. “I’ll check.”

Freddie thanked her once more before Mary Margaret went over to the fridge, taking note of what was in there. Freddie quickly waved David over, and once the man was close enough he whispered, “How is she really doing?”

David paused before whispering back, “She’s hurt, and the sooner she gets her job back the better.”

“Mhmm.” Freddie hummed quietly. “They can’t seriously think _she_ of all people would hurt a kid.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” David replied. “People are stupid.”

Freddie agreed with that sentiment completely. It wasn't fair for people to treat Mary Margaret so horribly when she was one of the nicest people that Freddie had ever met.

Mary Margaret returned, and listed off what was in the kitchen, taking note of things that Freddie hesitantly said he needed. Even as David and Mary Margaret were making plans to get the groceries, Freddie still couldn't help but be surprised that somehow he had found friends like these. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had been this considered over him. A part of him feared for the moment where they would throw up their hands, and admit that he just wasn’t worth the trouble. He knew they were good people and so this was unlikely to happen, but the fear was still there.

David put a hand on Freddie's shoulder. "We'll be back soon, buddy."

Freddie nodded and watched them leave.

Missy jumped up in his lap and Freddie stroked her head. "They'll be back, right?"

Missy meowed.

Freddie gave her a quirked smile. "Yeah, they'll be back."

* * *

It was nothing. It was just a little flirtation. Truly, he shouldn’t have been worried about it. So why couldn’t Killian get the image of August flirting with Emma out of his head? Why couldn’t he banish the image of Emma smiling at August from his mind?

 _It’s nothing_ , he told himself as Emma walked into the library, feeling his heart both lighten and constrict as she smiled at him.

“Hey.” She smiled leaning in to give him a chaste kiss.

Killian returned the kiss, smiling when she leaned back. He was glad that Dada was somewhere in the back, and Lady was nearby and preoccupied with her toy.

She seemed to notice something wrong, as she asked, “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Killian denied.

Emma arched a brow. "You sure you want to lie to me?" She joked.

“I could never.” Killian lied with a smile.

Emma gave him an unimpressed look.

Killian’s smile became nervous. “It’s nothing.”

"It's not nothing." She said, cupping his cheek. "Killian, you can tell me anything.”

Killian leaned into her touch, feeling embarrassed over the whole thing, worried that Emma would think less of him. “It’s stupid.”

“What is?” Emma asked.

Killian reached up to hold the hand that cupped his face. He lowered both of their hands down, keeping them linked, and as he felt his face redden he said, “I...saw you and August together at the diner.”

Emma immediately understood the implications and sighed, “Killian.”

“I know, I know.” He said self-consciously. "I told you it was stupid."

“Yes, it is.” Emma agreed, but before he could look away in further embarrassment, she broke his hold on her hand. She brought both of her hands to cup his face, getting him to look at her. “It’s stupid because you have nothing to worry about. I’m not interested in August in the least.”

"I figured." Killian felt sheepish. "I trust you, Emma."

Emma smiled, almost shyly, and she leaned forward until their lips were pressed against each other.

Killian sighed into the kiss, glad that Emma wasn't mad at him. He wrapped his arms around her to bring her closer. Emma then wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies molding together to be as close as possible.

A small moan escaped Emma as she opened her mouth, and Killian instinctively responded in kind. This gave Emma the opportunity to put her tongue on his mouth, deepening the kiss.

Killian groaned, pressing her against one of the shelves. They continued kissing passionately, their lips moving against each other, and one of Emma’s hands slowly going down his chest. It was only when Killian felt his lungs begin to burn that he reluctantly broke away. He brought a hand up to brush away some of Emma’s beautiful hair, and once her neck was exposed he bent his head to press kisses there.

Emma moaned again, though this time it was muffled, and it thrilled him to imagine that Emma was biting her lip to prevent the moan from escaping.

Every noise she made thrilled him, turning his blood hot. It spurred on every move, from the way his kisses went lower to her collarbone, to how he moaned as well when Emma’s hand went to his waist and teased the hem of his shirt.

"Killian." Emma's voice was breathy. When Killian brought his head back up, he saw her eyes darkened with lust. He once again captured her lips with his.

Emma moaned into his mouth, and her leg lifted up, wrapping around his hip, pulling him even closer. “You think-“ Emma said in between kisses. “-you think...we could...” Emma pulled back enough to say, “You think we could take this upstairs?”

Killian was about to respond when a throat cleared.

Both looked at an uncomfortable Dada. "Sorry, but uh, you're needed Mr. Tutor."

Killian and Emma hastily broke away from each other as Killian let out an embarrassingly high pitched “Dada! Uh, what do you need?”

Dada could hardly look at him as she said, “I just wanted to remind you that the kids will be here in like five minutes.”

“Ah, right, yes.” Killian said, looking over at Emma who was blushing as fiercely as he was. “Good, thank you for reminding me.”

“Okay.” Dada before she practically ran away from them.

Killian felt his entire body seize up from embarrassment. This was something that he, as Dada’s boss, would have a hard time waving away. That, and it made the prospect of throwing her birthday party tomorrow far more awkward than it had ever been.

“So, uh…” Emma trailed off awkwardly. “I guess I should go."

Killian also trailed off, “You don’t...have to…”

“Maybe I should.” Emma said. “Hey, we can meet up later right?”

“Of course.” Killian said just as the sound of the front door opening signaled the kids’ arrival. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you.” Emma said, looking around quickly before giving him a chaste kiss.

She turned around, and Killian followed her to see her out, but they hardly took five steps before Henry appeared in front of Emma, dragging Declan along with him.

“Emma, Emma.” Henry said hurriedly as he clung onto Declan’s hand. “We have to tell you something.”

Emma shot him a surprised look.

He was surprised as well since Henry and Declan seemed to have had a falling out since the incident at Regina's. And unless he was mistaken, Declan wasn’t normally into touching people, and yet here he was holding tightly onto Henry’s hand with a worried look on his face.

“Okay, yeah, what is it?” Emma asked.

Henry looked around, first at his confused friends, and then at some bookshelves, before nodding to an aisle further away. “Over there.” He said as he pulled Declan in that direction, and she and Killian followed soon after.

Only when they were presumably out of earshot of the others did Henry speak, though he kept his voice to a whisper. “You want to tell them, or me?” Henry asked Declan.

Declan hesitated before his nodded at Henry.

Henry then looked at Emma and Killian before whispering, “My mom threatened Declan.”

“What?” Killian and Emma simultaneously blurted out before the boys shushed them, warning them to keep it down.

"What do you mean she threatened Declan?" Emma growled, clearly feeling anger on the child's behalf.

“The day she put Declan in the closet, she came up to my room and told me that Declan broke stuff, but she lied.” Henry said, explaining what they already knew. Then he continued while nearly rambling, “Declan says that he talked back to her, and then she put him in the closet and banged on the door, and she said that if he ever did it again-”

“She’d put me in a place like the closet for the rest of my life.” Declan interrupted quietly, his eyes downcast as he tightened his grip on Henry’s hand. “I can’t...I can’t do that. I _hate_ places like that.”

Killian's heart clenched. The poor boy hadn't deserved that, especially since it was a hard reminder of what his own parents did to him. No child deserved such treatment.

Henry looked at Emma pleadingly. “You’re the Savior. You’re the only one that can stop that. You’re the only one who can stop my mom from hurting Declan.”

A flickering of uncertainty flashed in Emma's eyes before she became determined. “Okay, Declan, we’re going to go to Graham and tell him this. Henry, you stay here and-”

Immediately both boys protested - Henry insisting he remain with Declan, while Declan saying that he wanted Henry with him.

Emma steeled herself before saying, “Okay. Come on, we’ll go in my car.”

"Do you want me to come?" Killian asked her softly.

“You have a job to do, and so do I.” Emma said before kissing him on the cheek. “Don’t worry. Graham and I will handle it.”

“I’ve no doubt about that.” Killian said before giving her a kiss on the cheek as well.

Emma then led the boys out of the library and towards her car, with their curious friends asking what had happened. All the while, Killian thought that his group’s collection of evidence may come in sooner than expected.

* * *

Mary Margaret did her best to avoid the stares people were sending her way. She and David had split up in order to get their shopping down more quickly. He went to the pet store, and she to the grocery store. It was probably for the best, as everyone’s stares probably would’ve been worse if they were seen together.

She couldn’t imagine what they would’ve been like if they knew about her and David’s kiss.

Thinking back on it, she knew that it broke their agreement to wait until the divorce was finalized, but it wasn’t like she’d planned it. She had felt so hurt after her suspension, and there David was to lift her spirits, to say that he genuinely thought she deserved the best. The way he said it made all those feelings that bubbled under the surface boil over, and when she had kissed him, she knew in the back of her mind it was forbidden, but she didn’t feel an ounce of regret.

Why should she? He and Kathryn were in the process of getting a divorce. From her last conversation with the woman, her friend seemed to have more contempt for Mary Margaret than Kathryn did. She and David wouldn’t hurt anyone by being together, and she had the support of her friends.

Sooner or later, the town would just have to find something else to talk about.

Mary Margaret was so consumed in her thoughts that she nearly bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry.” Mary Margaret said as she steadied the other person, whom she quickly recognized. “Dada?”

“Oh, hi Mary Margaret.” Dada said pleasantly. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been better.” Mary Margaret said with a little sigh.

Dada gave her a sympathetic look before saying, “You sure? I heard what happened.”

Mary Margaret nodded stiffly. “I’m...as well as can be. What about you? I heard your birthday’s tomorrow.”

“How’d you know?” Dada asked in surprise.

“Emma told me.” Mary Margaret said. “The party’s still going to be at the backroom of Granny’s, right?”

“Yep.” Dada nodded. "I'm glad you're coming in spite of what's happened."

Mary Margaret smiled. "You're a friend. I'm glad to come." Mary Margaret then noticed someone walking behind Dada, and she couldn’t help but continue looking as that person gave her a dirty look.

Dada looked behind her, and after catching that person in the act, turned to Mary Margaret with a frown. “Ignore them.” Dada said in a slightly louder voice. “Worrying about snooty people is not worth your time.”

She then looked back, and she and the other person glared at each other until that shopper disappeared into another aisle.

"There, bye bye asshole." Dada said with a mocking wave.

Mary Margaret snorted. "You're so bad."

“Mhmm.” Dada hummed as she pushed back some of her hair before letting a shy smile come forth. “Just don’t tell Killian or Frances I called someone an asshole.”

“Why would they care?” Mary Margaret asked with a smile of her own.

Dada rolled her eyes. “Ugh, they’re always worried about me. I swear, the day the two of them actually meet up is going to be the day it feels like-” Dada stopped herself, and her smile slowly began to disappear.

“Like what?” Mary Margaret asked gently, wondering what was going on.

Dada tried to smile. “Oh, I was going to say something dumb like...like how it it would feel like having parents. Sorry, dumb joke.”

“No, it’s fine.” Mary Margaret said, recalling that Dada’s parents had died sometime ago. "So, who all is coming to the party?" She asked, trying to change the subject for Dada's sake.

“Um,” Dada started, “there’s you and Emma, of course. There’s also Frances, Ruby, Killian, and Jefferson.”

“Who’s Jefferson?” Mary Margaret asked curiously.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Dada told her before hastily adding, “Don’t tell Killian that...yet. He doesn’t know. Well, he might kind of know, or maybe not. The point is I haven’t told him yet.”

“So this is the first time they’ll be meeting?” Mary Margaret asked.

“...Yes?” Dada said hesitantly. “Well I don’t _think_ they’ve met each other other than one time, and they didn’t even talk then, so...kind of?”

Mary Margaret nodded sympathetically. "Well then I'll tell Emma to keep Killian in line."

“If you please.” Dada said in a grateful tone. “Oh yeah, you can invite David if you want.”

“Are you sure?” Mary Margaret asked cautiously. “It wouldn’t be too awkward?”

Dada scoffed kindly. “It’s fine. Besides, I’m more worried about Killian meeting my boyfriend.”

Mary Margaret paused before saying, “I’ll ask him.”

“Cool.” Dada said. “By the way, you need help with groceries? I already got what I wanted.” Dada showed Mary Margaret her basket, which contained a few snacks. “Turns out that hungry fifth graders are pretty indiscriminate about what they want.”

“Oh no, I’m fine.” Mary Margaret said. “I already have someone helping me. You go on.”

“Okay.” Dada said before she started walking away. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you.” Mary Margaret said, watching the girl walk towards the cash register in the front. Mary Margaret went back to her own errands, thinking about David, but also hoping that this birthday would turn out well for Dada.

* * *

_Rapunzel has been told not to swim in the river near her family’s castle. Rapunzel scoffed.. Her mother was just being silly._

_Rapunzel deepened her voice to mimic her mother. “You’re only seven.” Rapunzel then said aloud in her normal voice, “I’m not six anymore. I know how to swim.”_

_Besides, Mother was always praising Basil for his ability to swim, for Basil’s ability to do_ everything _. Why can’t Rapunzel do this? Maybe, if she’s really good at swimming, Mother will give her that same praise, and Basil won’t treat her like a baby._

_Rapunzel managed to evade all of her guards and her nannies, something she took with pride, and got all the way to the river unnoticed. Rapunzel smiled as she took off her dress, her shoes, and her jewels until she was only in her underclothes. She went forward to the shore, and dipped her toes in the river, shivering at the cold. Undeterred, she slowly began to walk into the river until she was ankle deep._

_“Cold.” Rapunzel said, shivering as she carefully waded further downstream. She slowly tested herself to see how far she could go, all the while ignoring the cold in her body as the water went from her ankles, to her thighs, and finally to her hips. Rapunzel laughed a little as she began to swim in the river, turning around so that she could swim against the current. She was cold, but it was worth it._

_Rapunzel choked a little as some water got into her mouth and down her throat, so she stood up to try and steady herself. Unfortunately, her left foot slid on something slippery, and her head went beneath the water. Rapunzel flailed in an attempt to find her footing, but this merely lifted up both of her feet, and she was forcefully pushed underneath the water, further away from where she was._

_Rapunzel gave a muffled shout, bubbles escaping her mouth as she tried to grab purchase of anything she could hold onto, but it was no use. She tried to swim up for air but the current kept her down, and as more and more time passed it felt like the river was becoming bigger. Rapunzel’s lungs were burning, and she became afraid as she was further and further at the mercy of the river._

_Rapunzel kicked as hard as she could up to the surface, and just when her lungs felt like bursting, she made it to the surface._

_She gasped as soon as air hit her face, the cold getting into her bones, though she pushed through the pain to swim out of the way of an incoming rock. No. The rock was stuck in the river. It was_ she _who was speeding up. Rapunzel shouted as she barely got out of the way of another rock, only this one hit her shoulder, spiraling her back into the water with hardly enough time to catch enough air._

I can do this, _Rapunzel thought as she tried to swim back up._ I just need to… _Rapunzel’s vision was becoming spotted, and she choked with no air as water entered her lungs._

_Something wrapped itself around her waist, and at first she thought it was a branch, but then she felt bring her closer to the surface. Rapunzel instinctively kicked to help it along, and when she got to the surface-_

_“Rapunzel!” Basil’s voice shouted, and Rapunzel realized that he was the one to pull her out. “Hurry, to the shore!”_

_“Ba-” Rapunzel tried to say, tried to thank him, but she was too busy trying to cough the water out of the lungs._

_“Go, go.” Basil panted as they went to the shore, which seemed so far away._

_Rapunzel kicked, holding onto Basil like a lifeline, but also to keep her brother with her, hoping that he too would be free of the currents._

_They got to the shore, and Basil pushed her forward, so that she was closer to the shore. “Get on! Hurry!”_

_Rapunzel reached forward, desperately clawing at the shore as the river current seemed intent on pulling them in. Rapunzel placed an arm on the shore, and with Basil pushing her to help, she scrambled onto the shore, coughing harshly as she shivered terribly._

_Rapunzel pushed her wet hair out of her face, hoarsely saying, “Basil, we made it. Ba-”_

_Rapunzel look behind her, ready to help her brother, but to her confusion she found he wasn’t there. To her horror, she looked around the river, and she couldn’t see him anywhere. Where was he, if not with her? Where was her brother?_

_“Basil.” Rapunzel whispered around, fearful tears welling behind her eyes as she wobbled by the shore, going downstream to search for him. He had to be there. He had to be okay. He just had to be!_

_“Basil.” She called out frantically, trying to gain the strength to make herself louder. “Basil! BASIL!”_

* * *

“I’m gonna kill her.” Graham whispered out in anger. He was careful to not let the boys hear what he was saying as they sat by Emma’s desk.

Emma winced as she and Graham stood in his office, unused to the sheer fury emanating from Graham. She might’ve been okay with some yelling. This though...this was a side of Graham that Emma was unused to.

It spoke volumes about Graham's paternal instinct, and how far he’d come from initially worrying about being good enough for Declan.

“I swear Emma, I…” Graham trailed off before slamming his fist onto his desk.

The boys jumped, and Emma silently waved at them to let them know things were fine, before turning to Graham.

“Graham, take a breath.” Emma told him.

“How can I?” Graham retorted on edge. “She...she had the audacity to...that woman has no shame, _no conscience_ . I _knew_ something bad had happened, but this…”

“Graham, you need to calm down." Emma said. "Believe me, I'm furious too. My child lives with that woman,  but the boys don't need to see us lose our heads."

That seemed to still the frantic mess inside Graham, if only for a bit. Graham took a few calming breaths before looking over at the boys, and giving them a reassuring smile. He then looked back at Emma and said, “Maybe now’s a good time as any to arrest her.”

"For what?" Emma asked. "The only proof we have is Declan's word, and Regina will just drag the poor kid through the mud."

Graham hesitated before saying, “Maybe...maybe for something more than that.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.

Graham replied, “Sometime after the...the incident, I thought that maybe I could try to build a case against Regina for child abuse or neglect. Not just against Declan, but Henry as well.”

“Henry? What did she do to Henry?” Emma asked, her voice rising in concern and anger.

“Left him alone for long periods of time.” Graham said before reluctantly adding, “Had me...come over when he was asleep. Look, I know it’s not a lot, but it’s something. Plus she’s always got her hands in something. I just need to find the proof.”

“Well until _we_ find proof, we should try to keep this to ourselves.” Emma said. “No point in letting Regina have anymore advantages.”

Graham looked ready to argue.

Emma beat him to it. “If she thinks that she’s about to get hit with an arrest, she might just jump the gun and press phony charges against Declan, or find a way to boot him out of town before she goes to trial.”

His jaw clenched, but Emma could see it in his eyes when he realized that she was right. She knew that it burned him to think of Regina walking freely just as much as it burned her, but they had to be smart. They couldn’t a slip up here.

Graham sighed before nodding. “Okay. We wait.”

"Okay." Emma said. "Now, go comfort your kid."

Graham didn’t need to be told twice, as he quickly left his office and went to kneel before Declan and asked, “How are you feeling?”

Declan shrugged silently.

Graham gently placed his hands on Declan’s arms and said, “Remember what I promised? I promised that Regina would never hurt you.”

Emma walked over to Henry and Graham spoke to Declan and pulled him aside. She sat him down on the couch next to the jail cell. "Hey, I know this might not be easy, but I need you to tell me, and be honest. Has Regina ever hurt you?"

Henry paused before shaking his head. “She never hit me.”

"Henry, she could be hurting you in other ways." Emma said. "She doesn't have to hit you to hurt you."

“She’s trying to make me think I’m crazy.” Henry replied. “Does that count?"

Emma hugged him to her, her eyes stinging. "I'm sorry. When I gave you up, I made sure that you were adopted in the hopes that you would have great parents who loved you."

“It’s okay.” Henry mumbled as he hugged her back. “I know.”

Emma just hugged him tighter. “You deserve everything good, and I’m sorry I didn’t give that to you.”

“But you did.” Henry said, holding onto her tighter as well. “You came here.”

His words made Emma want to cry. How did this kid turn out to be so sweet and forgiving after being raised by such an evil bitch?

Emma pulled back to cup Henry’s face, and she was unable to overcome the need to kiss his forehead. She’d only had a single memory of Mrs. Swan doing it for her, though she was so young when they gave her up, and the memory felt so distant that she wondered if she’d made it up. All she knew now was that she needed to do this for Henry, to show in some way that he loved her.

She was also unable to stop herself from saying, “I love you Henry.”

“I love you Mom.” Henry said before hugging her again.

* * *

_February 22, 2012_

Watching his own divorce proceeding was like watching an intense tennis match. However, the players seemed to be Ray and Mr. Spencer rather than David and Kathryn. Judging by the look on Kathryn’s face, she felt the same way.

“What more do you want, Mr. Spencer?” Ray asked with a touch of incredulity. “Kathryn-”

“Mrs. Nolan.” Spencer tried to correct.

“Ms. Antonis.” Kathryn corrected irritatedly, though she seemed more vexed with Spencer than with Ray. “I’m using my maiden name, remember?”

Ray continued, “Ms. Antonis will retain possession of the house, the furniture listed here-” Ray passed around an itemized list, “-and many of their possessions. Both of our clients have agreed to this, so what is the problem?”

“The problem is that your _client_ -” Spencer said the word contemptuously, “-is trying to maintain possession of a family heirloom.”

“What are you talking about?” Ray asked, both he and David staring at Spencer in confusion.

“Coyness doesn’t suit you.” Spencer said as he slid over a folder.

Ray opened it, and judging by the look on his face, he seemed pretty surprised by what it was. “I didn’t file this.” Ray said.

“Who else would file this?” Spencer asked irritatedly.

“I don’t know, but neither my client or I have any knowledge of this.” Ray retorted as he let the folder drop back to the table. “Besides, it doesn’t have my signature and it isn’t even notarized.”

Out of the corner of his eye, David saw Kathryn shift uncomfortably. However, he seemed to be the only one who noticed, as both Ray and Spencer were too busy arguing with each other. David wondered why Kathryn looked vaguely uncomfortable.

David looked at Spencer, addressing the man. “Well I’ll say it right now. I don’t want this thing. Ray already said it’s not signed or notarized, so can we please just wrap this up already?”

Spencer looked annoyed at David's words.

“I agree.” Kathryn interjected, a look of resignation on her face. “No need to drag this out, Mr. Spencer. David and I have made our feelings clear on what we want. Let’s get it done.”

Spencer couldn’t exactly protest against that.

Soon enough, the meeting was over, and everyone left the room with the promise to get the finalized divorce papers signed by the judge as quickly as possible.

“So it’s okay?” David asked Ray.

“Almost.” Ray replied. “We just need to get this signed and notarized, and then you and Kathryn will be legally divorced.”

David let out a sigh of relief. His eyes wandered, and he spotted Kathryn talking to Spencer. She glanced over at him, and still she had that shifty look on her face.

When Spencer turned to leave, David told Ray, “I’ll talk to you later.”

Ray looked between him and Kathryn. “Anything I need to know about?”

David shook his head. “I think Kathryn and I just need to talk.”

Ray nodded, though he seemed uncertain. He wished him well, and soon after left.

David walked up to Kathryn, and asked, “What was that back there?”

“What do you mean?” Kathryn asked.

“I mean the look on your face when Spencer brought up those papers for the heirloom.” David told her. “Did you have something to do with that?”

Kathryn paused before shrugging. “What does it matter? You don’t have it. It’s not your problem.”

“Why do you want to get rid of it so badly?” David asked her. “If you hate it so much, why don’t you just tell your dad?”

Kathryn replied, “Believe me, David, I’ve tried, but...there’s history behind that thing that I can’t even begin to get into, and...it just doesn’t matter now. I have bigger things on my mind.” Kathryn then reached into her purse and handed it to him.

David looked at it, and quickly realized what it was. “It’s an acceptance letter.”

“To a law school in Boston.” Kathryn said with a smile on her face. “I got in.”

“Congratulations.” David told her sincerely. "This will be good for you."

“I’m happy too.” Kathryn said. “I’m hoping I can leave soon, maybe start up a life in Boston before I go to school there.”

David gave her a genuine smile. "I wish you all the best."

“Thank you.” Kathryn replied with a smile of her own. “I just hope that my dad won’t be too mad at me.”

This struck David as odd. “Doesn’t he know?” He asked.

Kathryn shook her head. “He’s overprotective to say the least. He thinks I should stay here, but I want a life of my own. Besides, I’ll come back and visit. By then, things will have probably cooled down. Who knows? Maybe you and Mary Margaret will be out in the open by then.”

“What?” David asked in surprise. “We’re not-”

“Oh, come on.” Kathryn gently admonished. “I see the way you look at her. I know something’s happened.”

“Kathryn, nothing’s-” At her look, David admitted, “nothing’s _really_ happened, but nothing definitely did not happen when we were still mostly together.”

“Wow, that was just so elegant.” Kathryn snarked kindly.

David blushed.

"Okay, I believe you." She said, her hands raised up in peace. “Anyways, I should probably get going. I want to finish packing.”

“Good luck.” David said as Kathryn walked away. It was nice to know that she had a future planned out, and that soon enough he and Mary Margaret would be free to be together.

* * *

“I got you a present.” Henry told Declan as they sat next to each other in the library. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?” Declan asked as he accepted the handheld game Henry presented him. “Is it not a present?”

“It’s from my mom.” Henry said.

Declan immediately and carelessly flung it to the floor, causing everyone around them to flinch at the sound of it clattering against the tiles.

“That was probably expensive.” Henry told him.

“Probably.” Declan said. “But I don’t want any gifts from your mom.”

“Well, it was meant for me.” Henry replied.

“Oh...sorry.” Declan said embarrassed.

Henry shook his head. “Don’t be. I don’t want it. She only gave it to me because she feels bad about my book, or at least that’s what she says. She’s not sorry about anything else.”

Lady came over and sniffed the handheld game, which seemed to be intact.

“What’s this?” Mai asked as she came over, wrestling the game away from Lady.

“It’s a game.” Henry told her.

"What kind of game?" Mai asked.

"Probably something you're too young for." Henry replied as he tried to take the game, but Mai took a step out of his reach.

“Nuh uh.” Mai protested. “I can play.”

“Mai.” Henry sighed.

“I wanna play!” Mai whined.

“What’s going on?” Killian asked as he approached them. Phoebe was beside him, and looking concernedly at Mai. Henry saw a light shadow under her eyes, and unless he was mistaken, she looked like she hadn’t been getting enough sleep.

“Daddy, Henry won’t let me play.” Mai told him.

“Snitch.” Declan muttered under his breath, and Henry nudged for him to be quiet.

"I just told her that I wasn't sure she was old enough." Henry calmly defended. "There's a lot of fighting in it."

“Mai, give me the game.” Killian said, holding out his game.

“But Daddy!” Mai protested.

“Now, Mai.” Killian said in a serious tone, causing Mai to relent with a pout. “Here you go.” Killian said as he handed the game back. Killian then knelt in front of Mai. "Mai, I'm sorry, but some things just aren't for children."

“Henry’s a kid.” Mai argued softly.

“I meant younger children.” Killian recovered. “Tell you what. How about you show me the drawings you made in class today, and then we’ll play one of the games we have in the back? Alright?”

“Okay.” Mai nodded with a little hope in her eyes.

Killian stood up and took her hand, allowing Mai to lead her over to another table, with Lady following them.

“School going good for you guys?” Phoebe asked them.

“It’s fine.” Henry said, with Declan murmuring in agreement. “You?”

“Yeah.” Phoebe said tiredly. “I mean school’s tiring, and stuff, and…”

Henry and Declan shared a look.

“Um, you okay?” Declan asked.

“Yeah, totally.” Phoebe said. “Just kind of tired.”

Henry opened his mouth to say something, but then the doors of the library opened once more, and Emma stepped through.

“Hi, Mo- uh, Emma.” Henry said, flinching at nearly calling her ‘Mom’ in front of other people, the fear that his mom would find out still there.

“Hi Henry.” Emma said, brushing some hair out of his eyes. She then stumbled as if steadying herself, and when Henry looked down he saw that Mai had latched onto Emma’s leg, with Lady circling them.

“Hi Emma!” Mai said. “Wanna draw again?”

Emma chuckled as she greeted Mai.

Despite him, Henry couldn’t help but feel a tinge of annoyance and jealousy. He know Mai didn’t mean it, and to be fair she was pretty cute, but...Emma was _his_ mom. She already had Killian and Phoebe, and every time they met up, it was like Mai kept stealing his mom’s attention.

Killian walked over, and even everyone teasing them with an “Awwww” as they shared a kiss didn’t really assuage him. Mai even let go of Emma’s leg to get a better look.

The jealousy flared. He felt too embarrassed to say it out loud, but he’d thought of Killian as the closest thing to a dad he’d ever get. He cared about him, and he didn’t care what his mom - Regina - thought or threatened to do. And now Mai had stolen Killian too.

Seeing Emma, Killian, and Mai together only made him see the family he wanted to be a part of. They even had Phoebe and Lady to boot. But he wasn't a part of it, and he was stuck with Regina, fearing any form of out right defiance coming back on those he cared about.

“Henry, you okay?” Emma asked, looking at him with a head tilt and a concerned look.

Henry smiled and nodded his head. “I’m fine.”

“Henry.” Emma warned softly, and he knew her lie detector had been activated.

So, he settled for a half-truth, hoping to throw her off. “I’m just sad about my book.” He told her. “I still can’t find it.”

Emma still seemed conflicted about believing his words. “We’ll find it.” Emma settled on.

Henry smiled, although he knew that Emma didn’t totally believe him. He then reached over and grabbed her hand. “I love you.” He said softly, unable to keep some of the vulnerability out of his voice. He ignored the curious look on Declan’s face.

“I love you too.” Emma said as she kneeled in front of him. “What’s going on?”

Henry tried to think of a lie when the doors of the library opened again. He looked over and saw Dada come in. He then waved at Dada with his free hand and said, “Hi Dada!”

“Hi Henry.” Dada said. “Sorry I’m late. I had to deal with some stuff.”

“It’s your birthday.” Killian said. “You’re allowed some leeway today.”

Dada looked at him teasingly. "And leave you to fend for yourself with these ruffians?"

“Excuse you.” LJ interrupted. “We are _hooligans._ ”

“There’s a difference.” Paige said backing him up, and Henry saw them high-five under the table.

Dada laughed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any offense." She turned back to Killian. "Do you see? You wouldn't last one minute with them without me here."

Killian protested to that, citing the fact that the kids had already been there for half an hour.

“You’re going to Dada’s party tonight, right?” Henry asked Emma as Killian and Dada continued to banter.

“Yep.” Emma said. "It's supposed to be a small party, I think.”

“I hope you have fun.” Henry said.

Emma paused a bit before saying, “Mind if I talk to you alone for a second?”

“Sure.” Henry said as she tugged on his hand, and led him away to a book aisle further away from the curious looks of Declan, Phoebe, and Mai.

Once there, she asked, “How are things with Regina?”

Henry shrugged. “Same as usual. Well, kind of.” Henry sighed in aggravation. “I’m trying not to talk to her, and she keeps asking what’s wrong.” He realized that he was still holding onto the game, and he held it up. “She gave it to me because my book was missing, but I don’t want it. I don’t want anything from her after all the things she’s done.”

Emma brushed back some of his hair. “It’s all going to be okay.” She promised him. “You won’t have to stay there forever.”

Hope filled Henry. “You mean...I’ll get to live with you.”

“Would you be okay with that?” Emma asked.

“Yeah.” Henry said excitedly. “When can I move in with you?”

“Not yet.” Emma told him. “And don’t tell Regina. If she finds out about this-”

“-she’ll try to stop it.” Henry said. “Got it.”

“Exactly.” Emma replied. “Think of it as...part of Operation Bear.”

Henry couldn’t help but smile at her using an operation name. “Cool.”

Emma smiled at him, and then bent down to kiss him on the top of the head. “Come on, kid. You’ve got homework to do.”

Henry pouted it. “Had to ruin it, didn’t you?”

Emma smirked. “It’s one of the joys of being a mom.”

There was a loud _thump_ against the floor, causing Henry and Emma jump, and it was quickly followed by Dada apologizing profusely. Looking at each other in confusion, Henry and Emma returned back to the main area, and saw Dada hastily putting Henry’s things back on the table. From the looks of it, that was what fell on the floor.

“Oh god, I’m sorry.” Dada said with an embarrassed look. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s okay.” Henry told her as he approached. "Nothing broke or anything."

“Yeah, no thanks to me.” Dada said anxiously as she stood up, unable to look anyone in the eye.

"Dada, it's not a big deal." Killian reassured her, worried about her sudden change in demeanor.

“No, I know, it’s just-” Dada stopped herself as her voice reached a pitch. She brushed her hair back, tugging on the ends, and not for the first time Henry briefly saw her hair as longer than it was. Then she added, “I’ll just go in the back and check on stuff.”

She then quickly went to the back before anyone could stop her.

“What was that all about?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know.” Killian said, clearly concerned. "I should go check on her."

“Okay.” Emma said, and Killian soon followed Dada.

Henry watched as he disappeared into the back. Again, not for the first time, he wondered just who Dada was, and what happened to her in her past life.

* * *

_Rapunzel heard the whispers of people around her._

The prince went in to save her.

He died because of her.

Such recklessness.

 _She winced at every whisper made behind her back or just out of earshot, but she was hurt by the knowledge that they were_ right. _Basil was dead because of her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered that it was her fault that her only brother was dead._

_“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She whispered hoarsely as she sat alone in her seat in the library, her guards not far away. Her parents had given her more guards since Basil died. The library used to be her place of solace, a quiet place to go when the noise of the castle came to be too much, but now it has become just another room._

_Everyone was looking at her now more than they ever have before. She was her parents’ heir. She would become queen someday._

_Her breathing became slightly erratic as she took in her situation. She’d had to learn half a hundred different things she’d never had to worry about before. It was all overwhelming, but she was expected to catch up quickly to make up for how Basil-_

Basil would know, _Rapunzel thought, tugging on the ends of her hair._ He would understand all of this easily. He always knew what to do.

_Oh how she wished he was there with her._

_Rapunzel remained still for several moments before slowly coming out of her reverie. She had to learn how to do this somehow. She couldn’t let her fear control her. Reading the book in front of her, she tried to focus, but the words failed to grasp her attention._

_That was until she saw one word in particular - Night Root._

_Rapunzel quietly read the passage to herself. “Night Root is located solely in the kingdom of Corona, as it seems that the soil in the kingdom is the only one that can sustain it. Any and all attempts to plant it elsewhere failed.” Rapunzel read ahead, and found something that intrigued her. “The root of this plant carries a charat- charactera...cha-rac-ter-i-stic that can help any who ingest it overcome their fear.”_

This is it! _, Rapunzel thought happily. This could be her way to overcome her fear and worries, to be worthy to be a queen. To...to prove that she was more than a burden, one that killed…_

 _Rapunzel shook her head. No time for tears now. If she got the Night Root, if she did this one thing, she might never have to cry again. She could finally_ , finally _be a strong person._

_Rapunzel made a promise to herself. She would go out when everyone was dead asleep, escape, and then get the Night Root. After that, everything would be alright._

* * *

“Dada, Dada.” Killian said as he approached the watery-eyed young woman. “What is it?”

“Nothing, I’m sorry.” Dada denied.

“Don’t.” He told her softly. “If something is going on, then just tell me.”

“It’s nothing.” Dada told him again, not making eye contact with him.

“Look me in the eyes and say that.” Killian told her.

Dada was unable to do so.

“Something’s been bothering you.” Killian said, and Dada crossed her arms over her chest. He paused a moment before saying, “I don’t want to overstep any boundaries, with me being your boss, but if you need to talk about it, I’m here.”

“It is nothing.” Dada repeated, but with much less confidence and in a wobbly. “It’s just...I don’t know, things like my birthday or holidays just remind me that...I don’t have anyone waiting for me when I get home.”

“Your parents.” Killian said in understanding.

“Yeah.” Dada said with a nod of her head as she sniffled. “I was such a disappointment. I still am.”

“Stop that.” He told her kindly. “You are not a disappointment, and never have been.”

“You didn’t know me back then.” Dada told him.

“What, as a child?” Killian asked. “Maybe not, but whatever you did that supposedly disappointed your parents couldn’t have been that bad.” He took a chance by placing his hand on her shoulder. “All I see now is a strong young woman putting herself through work and online courses, doing her best and hurting no one. That’s something to be proud of, and I’ll say it as many times as I can until you believe it.”

Dada still seem to entirely believe him, but she did seem more open to what he was saying.

“Okay?” Killian asked her.

Dada nodded stiffly, biting her lip before sniffling.

Killian gently and ever so slightly used the hand on her shoulder to nudge her in his direction, a silent invitation for her to come closer.

Dada took the initiative and hugged him with one arm. When he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, she reciprocated.

“Sorry about before.” Dada whispered.

“It’s alright.” Killian said, gently and briefly rubbing her back. “And listen, if you ever need to talk or anything, just tell me. I promise I’ll be there.”

In her mind, Dada thought that she could believe him.

* * *

 _I can’t leave_ , Mary Margaret thought. _I just can’t take it anymore. I’m never going to leave this loft again._

She couldn’t bear to think of going out and enduring everyone’s scornful looks. The people who sneered at her, calling her a whore and a devil woman, or a bitch and a child abuser.

 _It’s not true!_ , Mary Margaret protested in her mind, knowing that it was all but useless to say so to anyone outside of her circle of friends. No one seemed to believe her anymore.

The entire town, her _home_ , had viciously and self-righteously turned against her without thought or tangible proof.

 _What is wrong with people?_ , Mary Margaret thought. _I didn’t do anything!_

There was a knock on the door, and Mary Margaret wondered if it was Emma. No, if it was Emma, then she would’ve just used her key. Unless she lost it.

“Mary Margaret?” Freddie’s voice asked from the other side of the door. “Sorry...can I come in?”

Mary Margaret hesitantly walked over to the door, wiping away her tears before she opened the door. “Hi.” She said to Freddie, who had Missy perched on his lap.

“Hi.” Freddie said with a nervous look. “Sorry I didn’t call ahead, but I lost your home phone number.”

“That’s okay.” Mary Margaret told him. “Um, I don’t want to seem rude, but why are you here?”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing.” Freddie told her.

“I’m…” Mary Margaret trailed off, attempting to lie but suddenly finding herself without any energy to do so. “I’m going to be okay.”

Freddie smiled encouragingly. “I know. I just wondered if maybe you wanted some company.”

Mary Margaret hesitated. “The loft isn’t that clean.’

Freddie gave her a kind look. “Neither was my place when you came over. I’m sure it’s no worse than what my apartment was reduced to.”

Missy meowed.

“See?” Freddie teased. “Missy agrees with me.”

Mary Margaret paused before acquiescing. “Well...okay. I just need to get ready for a party later.”

“Fine by me.” Freddie said as he entered the loft, Missy remaining perched on his shoulder like she belonged there.

Mary Margaret closed and locked the door, watching as Freddie reached up to pet Missy’s head, only for the kitten to avoid his hand. Freddie got a knowing look on his face, slowly moving his hand down, only for Missy to meow indignantly. She refused to stop until Freddie lifted his hand to pet her with a raised eyebrow.

 _Freddie seems to understand her_ , Mary Margaret thought. _Missy wants him to earn her affection. Copper would’ve just bounded into her lap, begging to be held._

Mary Margaret’s heart suddenly filled with longing and heartache. She’d missed the little guy, but she knew that her lack of a job and her current emotional state didn’t exactly provide a good home for a puppy. She had avoided the shelter, not wanting to think of the puppy being adopted by someone else, but unable to handle being around him knowing that she shouldn't adopt him.

“What’s wrong?” Freddie asked her concernedly.

Mary Margaret shook her head. “A lot, but…” Mary Margaret shrugged. “I was just thinking about this dog from the shelter. His name is Copper. He’s a Bloodhound puppy, and just so adorable. I haven’t really been able to get him out of my mind, but with everything going on, I don’t know if I’m the best person to adopt him.”

Freddie paused uncertainly before saying, “Maybe not, but who knows how long he’ll be in the shelter?”

“I know, I know.” Mary Margaret said. “Someone will probably adopt him, and maybe they’ll provide a better home.”

“Maybe,” Freddie replied, “but puppies don’t stay puppies forever. Once he gets to about a year or two old, for some reasons they start losing that appeal, which honestly doesn’t make a lot of sense. After all, if people like dogs the way I like cats, they can still be pretty adorable.”

“Freddie-” Mary Margaret started.

“I know you’re in a bad place.” Freddie interrupted gently. “I know that you’re feeling down about yourself, but from the way your describe Copper, the way you sound...I think you want him, and I can imagine few people who are as kind, caring, and hardworking as you.”

“Tell that to the rest of the town.” Mary Margaret said self-deprecatingly.

“The rest of the town can take their mob thinking somewhere else.” Freddie replied. “I know the truth. So do David, Emma, Killian, Graham, Ray, and a handful of people that actually care about you enough to get their facts straight.”

Mary Margaret nodded stiffly, giving Freddie a wobbly smile.

Freddie gently offered, “Need a hug?”

Mary Margaret paused before nodding. Immediately Freddie moved forward, enveloping her in his arms as she hesitantly hugged him back. He was warm and comforting, and she vaguely felt one of Missy’s paws patting the top of her head.

Mary Margaret sighed, sinking further into Freddie’s embrace, thinking that it was a good thing she’d managed to find a friend like him.

* * *

“Look who it is.” Ruby said, gently nudging Dada’s side and nodding to something outside.

Dada looked and smiled when she saw Jefferson heading closer to the door. Dada decided to beat him to it by heading outside.

“Hey.” Dada smiled, leaning up to kiss him.

He took mercy on her by leaning down, closing the gap between them, and their lips pressed together.

Dada sighed contentedly into the kiss, and she let a hand slide up to his neck, pulling him closer.

When they pulled back, both Dada and Jefferson were smiling.

“Happy birthday.” Jefferson said before presenting her with a small wrapped box.

“For me?” Dada asked as she smiled.

“Yes, it’s for you.” Jefferson said as he handed over the gift. “I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will.” Dada told him, feeling downright giddy. Dada then grabbed his hand. “So...you ready to formally meet Killian?”

Jefferson let out a nervous little laugh. “Is it weird if I say I feel like I’m meeting your dad and not your boss.”

“Mm, only because he’s more like an older brother than a dad.” Dada replied, squeezing his hand. “You’ll be fine.”

“Let’s hope so.” He said, again with a touch of nervousness.

Dada decided to help him out by leaning up to kiss him again, wrapping an arm around his neck to keep him close as they kissed once more.

When they pulled back, Dada was smiling...until she noticed Killian standing there, glaring at Jefferson as Emma awkwardly shuffled in place next to him.

Dada chuckled nervously as she felt her face heat up. “Uh, hi guys.” Her eyes darted between them and Jefferson before she managed to speak again. “Oh, this is Jefferson.”

Jefferson gave an awkward wave. “Nice to meet you.”

Killian looked about as unamused and unaffected as Dada had ever seen him, while Emma clearly saw this and looked like more amused than she should.

Jefferson squeezed her hand as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

“So...should we head in?” Dada suggested.

“I think that... _Jefferson_ and I should get to know each other better.” Killian said as he practically glared at her boyfriend.

“Or,” Dada started with a meaningful look, “we could all just go in and celebrate my birthday like civil people, _right?_ ”

Killian didn’t look pleased, but after getting a nudge from Emma, he nodded, albeit while staring at Jefferson suspiciously.

 _Oh this is going great_ , Dada thought snarkily.

Emma gave her a reassuring look as they walked inside, which helped a little.

She just hoped everything else would go well, as well as wondering when Frances would get there.

* * *

_Rapunzel could barely move. She’d been stuck in this tower for...for days, maybe weeks. She couldn’t tell. There was no way to tell the time aside from looking out of the window to see the sun disappear behind or reappear from the trees. However, the intense headache she’d had for the past day all but ruined her ability to comprehend time._

I was stupid, _Rapunzel thought bitterly as she stared blearily at the ceiling of the tower._ I never should’ve left. I’m going to die, and no one will know I’m here.

_She’d had such hopes for the Night Root, eager to believe that it would once and for all cure her of her cowardice. And yet, like everything else, she messed everything up. After consuming the Night Root, instead of finding the courage she wanted, all she got was a loathsome mirror of herself._

_“You killed Basil,” it had said, smirking at her with her own face. “Mother and Father wishes it had been you instead.”_

_“Not...true.” Rapunzel said hoarsely, her throat dry after going so long without water._

_“It is true.” The demon said, suddenly reappearing. It was a frightening thing for Rapunzel to have a demon peering down at her, sneering at her with her own face. “Secretly, they’ve always hated you. They loved Basil more. You killed their favorite child.”_

_“No...favorites.” Rapunzel protested weakly, trying to close her eyes to not have to look at the demon, but unable to do so._

_“I think they haven’t even noticed you’re gone.” The demon said. “If they have, they must be angry, or maybe glad you’re gone. Everyone’s secretly glad your gone.”_

_Tears welled up in Rapunzel’s eyes, and try as she might she couldn’t stop the little water that was left in her body from escaping in the form of those tears._

She’s right, _Rapunzel thought._ Basil was the favorite, wasn’t he? He was perfect, and now he’s gone and I’m-

_“Oh gods.” A horrified woman’s voice said, and Rapunzel started. She looked, and saw that not only was the demon gone, but a woman was there with her._

_As the woman spoke to her, Rapunzel couldn’t help but stare in disbelief. Someone had found her. She was saved!_

_She hadn’t seen a person in who knows how long, and now she had someone there. She thought she’d go insane without someone to talk to, or perhaps die before she could, so she examined everything about her. The woman was older, though by how much Rapunzel couldn’t really tell - not as old as her parents, she believed. She had dark hair and blue eyes, and perhaps a wrinkle in her forehead, her red lips frowning in worry._

_The woman lifted one of her hands, and that’s when Rapunzel noticed something._

_“Hand.” She said weakly, seeing a deep scar there in the shape of a star._

_“Yes.” The woman said as she slowly guided the hand over Rapunzel’s body, a soft light emitting from it, and Rapunzel felt herself able to breathe a bit more easily now. “No injuries, that’s good, but…” The woman gently helped Rapunzel sit up, and waved that same scarred hand and conjured up a pitcher of water. “Not exactly what I had in mind, but it’ll do the job. Open up, dear.”_

_Rapunzel opened her mouth, and after taking a few sips of the water, began to try and chug down all the water she could._

_“Slowly.” The woman warned, and Rapunzel choked on the water, and nearly threw it up as her stomach lurched. “How long have you been here?”_

_“Days.” Rapunzel admitted._

_The woman sighed. “I got here just in time then. Where are your parents?”_

_“In our castle.” Rapunzel answered._

_“Castle?” The woman asked with a raised eyebrow. “Who are your parents?”_

_“Queen Ariana and King Friedrich.” Rapunzel replied. “I’m Princess Rapunzel. Who are you?”_

_The woman looked at her with realization and...sadness? She then answered, “I am Morgana Oer of Rheged.”_

_“Where’s Rheged?” Rapunzel asked curiously, not recognizing the name of the kingdom. Was it a kingdom? Perhaps it was a province instead?_

_“I have been asked that more than once.” The woman snarked before looking at her sympathetically. “Listen to me Rapunzel...it’s not safe out there.”_

_“You saw the demon?” Rapunzel asked._

_“What demon?” Morgana asked back before shaking her head. “No, I have not seen a demon, but please listen. There are people out there looking for Princess Rapunzel.”_

_“Rescuers?” Rapunzel asked hopefully._

_Morgana shook her head. “There’s...there’s no easy way to say this, but by all accounts, there has been a coup. Your parents have gone missing.”_

No...no that can’t be, _Rapunzel thought frantically as she shook her head. “You’re lying.”_

_“I’m not.” Morgana told her._

_“You are.” Rapunzel insisted._

_“It’s…” Morgana trailed off before sighing, pouring some of the water that was left into her cupped hand, whispering into it, and then letting it fall to the flour. Instead of simply going into the wooden floor, it evaporated, rising up unnaturally until it formed a sort of screen. And in that screen of smoke, Rapunzel saw soldiers milling about the throne room of her castle, with the Duke on the throne._

_“Where is she?” The Duke inquired, looking at the soldiers, and Rapunzel saw none of the lords or ladies that typically resided there._

_“We are still searching, my lo- Your Majesty.” The man said, correcting himself._

_“Well, make sure you do.” The Duke said coldly. “We’d love nothing more than Lady Rapunzel’s safe return, don’t we?”_

That’s not right, _Rapunzel thought._ I’m the princess, and he’s a Duke. He shouldn’t be calling me ‘Lady Rapunzel’, or himself ‘Your Majesty’. My father is the king, not him!

_“Yes, Your Majesty.” The soldiers said before they milled around again. The image then showed a closer look at the Duke’s face, and he was whispering to what appeared to be a courtier. “Have you made the arrangements?”_

_“Yes, Your Majesty.” The courtier said. “The room for the Lady Rapunzel is equipped to keep her inside, for her own protection of course.”_

_“Good.” The Duke said. “And the other provision?”_

_“We are still searching for her parents.” The courtier said. “If we have any issue when they’re found-”_

_Morgana waved her hand, and the images fell away, leaving them in silence._

_Her parents...were missing, an-and the Duke was calling himself ‘Your Majesty’, and he wanted to find her but...but…_

_“No.” Rapunzel whimpered weakly, refusing to believe this reality and yet unable to fully deny it either. Her parents were royal, they couldn’t just go missing, and they would’ve found her, wouldn’t they? “No.”_

_“Shh, shh.” Morgana said, gently drawing a shaking Rapunzel into her arms. “I know dear, but I promise not to let them hurt you.”_

_“Why?” Rapunzel asked, staring up at Morgana with tearful eyes. “Why?”_

_“Because I know exactly what you’re going through.” Morgana said sorrowfully. “And I promise, I’ll look after you.”_

_Rapunzel had nothing to say to that, and instead curled into Morgana’s arms. She’d lost...everything. Her brother, her parents, her home. She had Morgana now, but for how long? Everything she had was lost or someone else’s now._

_Who was she now? And what would happen to her?_

* * *

Jefferson had felt bad about leaving Dada’s birthday a little earlier before it actually ended. He had wanted to get a head start back home before it got dark, and he’d felt a little stifled at Granny’s, though not as much as he would have under normal circumstances. Then again, a new form of stress took the form of Killian Jones, who looked at Jefferson like he was a particularly mysterious disturbance, and practically glared at him any time he inched closer to Dada.

Jefferson honestly thought that he’d be the one doing the glaring, for when Grace decided to date at age 82, rather than being the one who was glared at.

 _It was worth it though,_ Jefferson thought with a smile. Dada had been happy, truly happy, the entire party. He looked through his telescope, and saw Dada being dropped off by Emma and Killian, a grin on her face as she went inside.  

Assured in the knowledge that she was safely back home, he turned his attention to a more dangerous target.

Regina was in her office doing work, likely completely confident in the knowledge that her power, her curse, would keep her safe.

 _It might for now_ , Jefferson thought. _Not forever though._

Emma was in town, that was the beginning of the end, right? Even if she was taking her sweet time believing in the curse. Jefferson wanted to give her a push, but he had no idea how to do so.

Jefferson sighed in frustration. She needed to break the curse and fast, before Regina decided that Dada could prove to be too much of a threat. Dada might have more protection when everyone remembered, but not now.

And then there was Gold to deal with, regardless of how useful he’d made himself by letting him know Regina was interested in Dada.

...which begged the question as to _why_ he did it.

He was far from a generous man, and he wouldn’t volunteer that information without asking for something in return...and yet he _hadn’t_ asked for anything before giving him that information. Why?

 _Something’s not right_ , Jefferson immediately thought. With some hesitation, Jefferson turned his telescope away from Regina’s house and to Gold’s pawn shop...and to his surprise and horror, he found Dada entering the shop.

“What the hell is she doing?” Jefferson asked himself before he watched Gold come up to the door behind Dada. He then watched in trepidation as Gold locked the door, and turned the sign around to say that it was closed. “No, no, no, this isn’t good.”

Jefferson paced around his living room for a few moments before putting on his coat and shoes, and racing to the shop.

His lungs burned and his legs began to cramp as he ran towards the shop, frantically wondering what Gold was going to do to Dada, and hating himself for falling for such a trick.

 _You idiot!,_ Jefferson admonished himself as he finally made it to the town and headed straight to the shop, gasping for air. _You should’ve known he had some interest in Dada. You should’ve known he was up to something._

Jefferson was breathing heavily as he finally came to the front of the shop, frantically trying to open the door before reminding himself that it was locked. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the tools he needed to pick the lock, getting to work like it was second nature.

When he finally undid the lock, he threw the door open and shouted, “Dada!” He looked around but found the front of the shop empty. He spotted a curtain leading to the back, and he raced through shouting her name again.

He went past the curtain, and quickly took in the scene. Gold was standing off to the side very calmly, watching as Dada stilled on the floor, a cup of something broken on the floor next to her.

“Dada.” Jefferson breathed out as he went down to check on her. He turned her over and saw that her eyes were glazed and unseeing. Distantly, he noted that she was wearing that necklace he’d given her as a birthday gift.

He looked at Gold in a rage. “What the hell did you do?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Gold said uncaringly, not even looking at Jefferson, but instead Dada.

Jefferson looked down at her, smoothing her hair out of her face as he said, “Dada, Dada can you hear me?”

Dada simply moaned, blinking her eyes slowly.

Jefferson moved to get her up. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” Gold said. “We might be witnessing a miracle.”

Jefferson snarled, “You don’t-”

“What…” Dada trailed off quietly. When Jefferson looked down, he saw that Dada’s eyes had become focused, looking around as if wondering where she was. Dada began to sit up, looking at Jefferson, then Gold, then around the room again. “I...I don’t understand...where am I?”

“You’re in Gold’s shop.” Jefferson told her, relieved that she was speaking again. “Don’t worry, we’re going.”

“Going?” Dada asked, looking at him confusedly. Then realization came over her face. “Wait...wait it really happened? I’m here, but not…” Dada flinched as her hand went ot her head. “I’m her, and I’m me, but…”

With a start, Jefferson wondered if maybe, just maybe, he was hearing her right.

Gold then asked, “Who are you?”

“What?” Dada asked him as Jefferson helped her stand up.

“I asked who are you?” He repeated, though there was a glimmer of excitement in Gold’s eyes.

“I’m...my name is Rapunzel.” Dada replied before looking at Jefferson. “That’s who I am, but...that’s not all is it. I...I remember her. I remember Dada. _Me_. She’s _me_.”

Jefferson felt his heart jump and his breathing become harder as he looked at her once more. “You remember?” He asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice.

Dada, _Rapunzel,_ looked him as a smile slowly came over her. “Jefferson...you’re Jefferson.”

“Yes, I am.” Jefferson said with sudden worry. “What do you remember?”

Dada/Rapunzel tried to focus, but flinched as if something struck her on the head. “Ow.” She groaned as her hand went to her head again. “There’s too much. It’s too much.”

“Focus now.” Gold told her. “What is the last thing you remember?”

“I came into the shop.” She groaned out. “You called, but- wait, no. Wait...I was in...I was somewhere else. My house? No...no my tower. I was in my tower.”

 _She really is Rapunzel_ , Jefferson thought in amazement.

She looked up at Jefferson then. “France- _Morgana_. Where is she? Wait.” She looked around with a new look of realization. “Oh gods...I’m out of my tower. The demon’s not here.”

“What demon?” Jefferson asked.

Dada/Rapunzel looked at him again, her hands resting on his shoulders. “Jefferson, it’s me. It’s Dada, but that’s not my name, but...I know I sound crazy-”

“You don’t.” Jefferson said, a smile on his face and tears of relief in his eyes. “You don’t sound crazy at all.”

“Not that this isn’t fascinating,” Gold interrupted, causing them both to look at him suspiciously, “but I’d like to know how you’re feeling.”

She paused before glaring at Gold. “That call was a lie, wasn’t it? I knew you didn’t mean it when you said you would lower the library’s rent, but I couldn’t take the chance.”

“You might be surprised, but I’m somewhat tempted to do so now.” Gold said. “Especially given the success of this little experiment.”

She let out a breath. “The drink you gave me. There was something in it.”

“Of course.” Gold said.

“Why?” Jefferson asked, holding Dada/Rapunzel closer. “Why test it out on her? Why make it at all if the curse is going to be broken?”

“My business.” Gold replied.

“We’re leaving.” Jefferson said.

“Wait.” Dada/Rapunzel said, stopping him from moving.

Jefferson started, “Dada-”

She cupped Jefferson’s face to have her look at him, silencing him with that action. She looked at him earnestly as she said, “Rapunzel. My name’s Rapunzel... _and_ Dada. It feels like my head’s splitting in two, and everything is so confusing.” She then smiled at him once more before saying, “Whoever I am - Dada or Rapunzel, hell both of them - I still care about you. I lo-”

Suddenly, she doubled over in pain, her legs wobbling so badly that Jefferson had to hold her upright.

“Dada.” Jefferson said in a panic, watching as she writhed in his arms, her eyes screwed shut. He turned to Gold and asked, “What’s happening?”

“From the looks of it, the potion is beginning to wane.” Gold said, watching apathetically.

“No.” Jefferson said shaking his head, suddenly despairing the idea that for a few moments, he had someone on his side who remembered, someone he loved who he could truly talk to and understand.

 _Wait, ‘loved’?_ , a distant part of his mind thought before Jefferson realized that Rapunzel stopped writhing, that she had quieted.

“Rapunzel?” Jefferson asked, helping her stand upright. “Rapunzel.”

“Who’s...Rapunzel?” She asked him drowsily, his heart sinking at her words. Her eyes became somewhat more focused, though not by much as she asked, “Wait, how’d I get here?”

“I believe you had too much to drink, correct?” Gold inquired. “You really shouldn’t drink at your age. Who knows what kind of trouble you could get yourself in.”

“Sure." Dada replied confusedly. “Sorry about that.”

“I believe you should see yourself out.” Gold said, though upon looking at Dada’s state, he added, “Or perhaps Jefferson here can escort you.”

Jefferson held Dada closer as he glared at Gold. “You are a bastard. This whole thing was a setup, right from the beginning. You’re the one that set Regina against Dada in the first place, aren’t you?”

“Whether I did or not is irrelevant now.” Gold replied as he picked up the drink that was likely laced with the potion Rapunzel described.

“Like hell it is.” Jefferson retorted. “Regina now thinks that Dada could be a threat. You know what she does to people who are threats.”

“Whatever she decides to do to Ms. Meyer is none of my concern.” Gold said coldly. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s served her purpose. Go along now.”

Jefferson glared at him with utter hatred.

“What are you going to do, Jefferson?” Gold asked him with a chuckle. “Ms. Meyer is already convinced that she had too much to drink, isn’t that right?”

“Mhmm.” Dada hummed as she rested her head against Jefferson’s chest.

“See?” Gold added. “Not much you can do here. And no glare or potential ham-fisted threat is going to last against me. You should know that by now.”

Jefferson hated that he was right, and he hated the man that stood before him. For a few moments, he’d had hope that he wouldn’t have to be alone, but losing that hope wasn’t the worst of it. Gold had just endangered Dada twice over without a second thought.

One way or another, Gold was going to _pay_ for this.

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Killian asked Emma as they arrived at Ray’s door.

Emma looked at him seriously. “Definitely. I’m not running from this anymore, and I’m tired of Regina being around my son.”

It had all been too much to take. Henry’s fear of Regina. What she did and threatened to do to Declan. Her constant need to screw over everyone’s lives.

Emma had had enough, and she wasn’t going to let Henry be stuck in that environment any longer.

Killian smirked at her. “Just wanted to know.”

Emma knocked on the door.

Soon After, Ray answered it, having gotten the call from Emma earlier, though Emma hadn’t told him about what yet. Just that it was a legal matter.

“Come on in.” Ray said as they went inside. They walked into his office and shut the door behind him. None of them bothered to sit down as Ray asked, “What do you need?”

Emma took in a breath before slowly releasing it. “Ray, I want to gain custody of Henry.”

“Happy to help.” Ray immediately said. “When do we get started?”

Emma was a little surprised. “What? You’re not going to tell me how bad custody battles get, or how my chances of getting custody are somehow lower because I’m not mayor.”

“Well there’s that, but I’ve been waiting for this for a while.” Ray told her. “Besides, we have the information necessary to form a pretty solid case for neglect.”

“You do?” Emma asked. “Wait, we?”

Ray looked between her and Killian before his eyes settled on Killian. “You didn’t tell her?”

“Tell me what?” Emma asked, looking at Killian with a raised eyebrow.

Killian scratched the back of his head as he answered, “I was waiting to tell you.”

“Tell me _what_?” Emma asked once more.

Ray smiled as he said, “The day Regina locked Declan in the closet, when she denied you visitation, Killian called me, David, and Freddie to my office to talk about what to do. It was his idea to get dirt on her to act as leverage in case you pressed for visitation.”

“Well, it was Ray who explained how we could do it legally.” Killian told Emma with a light blush on his cheeks. “And I’m fairly certain David was the one who came up with the spying on her idea.”

Emma looked at Killian in astonishment, her face softening as a small smile began to bloom on her face. “You did that...for me?”

Killian paused, looking at her gently before nodding. “I did.”

Emma could’ve kissed him right then and there if Ray hadn’t been in the room. She’d have to do something the second they were in private. For now, she settled for grabbing his hand and squeezing it, smiling a little more when he squeezed it back.

Emma looked back at Ray, ignoring his knowing look, before asking, “So...what can I expect?”

“A bloodbath.” Ray replied. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it - custody battles can get downright brutal, and that’s just when two even tempered people get at it. You’re going up against a woman who has little to no moral compass, and how has no apparent reservations about using her mayoral powers against people. While we’re going to use the information we gathered against Regina, I have no doubt that she’ll use every resource at her disposal to ruin your image as a viable parent. If you want me to go through with this, you’re going to have to be honest with me about anything in your past that could hurt you, because Regina will find it and use it. You will need to be one hundred percent sure that you’re ready to take on the heat.”

 _Everything huh?_ , Emma thought distantly. This meant her moving around from city-to-city, her life as a foster child, her criminal record. A cold feeling spiked in her stomach at the idea that Henry would figure out that he was born in jail, that she was an actual criminal. She worried about how he would look at her afterwards.

 _Would it be any worse than how he might end up if he’s stuck with Regina?_ , she asked herself.

Even with this warning in mind, she’d made her decision long before she came to Ray’s door tonight.

Glancing at Killian, she found nothing but support in his expression.

Turning back to Ray, Emma said determinately, “I’m ready to fight for Henry.”

Ray smiled and said, “That’s what I like to hear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is ON everyone! Emma is going to fight for custody, and I promise you it is going to be as unpleasant and bloody as you might expect. 
> 
> Gold used Dada as an experiment and oh boy what a monster. Jefferson is not pleased at all, and without giving too much away, this isn’t the last time we’ll see that potion come into play...
> 
> You know, this is the first time I’ve had a chapter title prepared before I wrote the chapter, so this was really good.
> 
> Let me know what you thought down below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	24. Drawing Nearer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, a festival is planned, we learn more about who Mai really is, and a few characters make a horrifying discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing canon from the show, only my OCs.
> 
> Special thanks as always to Cant-Escape-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 22, 2012_

It was the evening when Kathryn came by to see Regina, and Regina was curious as to what prompted this visit.

"Kathryn, hello." Regina greeted in surprise.

"Hi." Kathryn replied nervously. "I'm sorry about not calling ahead of time, but...I just really need to talk to you."

 _About what?_ , Regina wondered before inviting Kathryn inside. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing." Kathryn said. "It's just...I'm going to move out of town."

Regina could hardly contain her shock. She really shouldn't have been surprised by this, given how her attempts to convince Kathryn to fight for David had failed, but still…

"Are you sure?" Regina asked her. "What about David? Or your father?"

Kathryn said, "I was accepted at a law school in Boston. I don't start right away, but I want to start a life there. There's nothing here for me except my father, and...I can't always be with him. I have to try and make my own way in the world."

 _That'll be difficult since you won't be able to cross over the town line,_ Regina thought. She didn't want to resort to taking Gold up on his offer, however tantalizing the thought of making Snow White pay in this life was, as getting into business with that imp rarely ended well for her.

"But what about the divorce?" Regina asked, though she was loathe to mention the damn thing. "Don't you need to wait to finalize it?"

"I already told David what was happening." Kathryn said. "Besides, everything is finished up, and the judge is going to finalize it first thing in the morning. I just...I don't want to stay in town anymore. I don't want to have to keep waiting for something else to happen that will delay the inevitable. Whatever David and I had is gone, and...I'm just tired. Besides, I already left a letter at both of their places. I know my dad will try to talk me out of it, and he might even convince me, so...I just hope he doesn't hate me so much. And…"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Kathryn hesitated a moment before saying, "In David's letter...I told him he should be with Mary Margaret."

Regina stiffened as she asked, "What? You want him to be with the woman he was cheating on you with?"

"David said nothing happened." Kathryn replied, and when Regina scoffed she earnestly added, "And I believe him. They're...I don't know exactly what's going on, but I know there's something between them, something real. When I first heard about what happened, I was angry, but...now I realize it wasn't because I thought he was cheating on me. I was angry because every time I looked at David whenever Mary Margaret came up, his eyes lit up and he seemed happier. He's never been that way with me, and honestly I don't think I was ever that way with him."

"But after what she did to my son-" Regina started, but she caught the reluctant look on Kathryn's face, and Regina suppressed the urge to lash out when she realized that Kathryn didn't believe her. Or rather, she didn't think that Mary Margaret hurt Regina's son.

If Regina didn't have a contingency plan for this very thing, however much she didn't want to go through with it to avoid being indebted to the imp, she might be panicking right now. Or, she might feel the urge to try and hurt Kathryn for believing Mary Margaret over her. As it was, Regina could only really look at Kathryn's determined expression with some amount of resignation.

 _Some amount_ , Regina reminded herself, suppressing the urge to sigh at having to take Gold's deal.

"Well...I see that you've made up your mind." Regina said, though it was certainly made to Kathryn's detriment. "Just...let me serve you some coffee or tea before you go. Just one last time."

Kathryn gave her a grateful smile before hugging Regina, and Regina hugged her back like the good friend she was.

"Thank you for understanding." Kathryn said as she pulled away.

"Go on." Regina said, directing Kathryn to the dining room before heading to the kitchen herself. She then went to kitchen, where she saw her purse still there, and she went to retrieve it. Looking inside, she found her regular cell phone...and her burner phone.

She always kept one on hand to deal with her more...unscrupulous business.

She looked around to make sure Kathryn wasn't listening in before dialing Gold's number, reading to take him up on his offer.

She knew that all he _supposedly_ wanted was for her to get the assault charges against Belle's lover dropped, but with Gold there was always something more.

Gold may have offered the deal to her, but Regina wouldn't honor it until Kathryn was gone.

* * *

_February 23, 2012_

This...wasn't going well. Mary Margaret had just attempted to get people to join her for Miner's Day, but the reception was...frosty at best. From her place at one of the booths, even Emma got the feeling that the room wasn't happy with her.

When Leroy walked up to her, Mary Margaret jumped at the chance that he might be interested. "Leroy, you want to volunteer?"

"I wanna leave, sister." Leroy said bluntly. "You're blocking the door."

"Of course." Mary Margaret said, embarrassed. "Uh...you know, if you want to help it could really be a-"

"Oh yeah, right." Leroy snarked. "Quite a team we'd make. Apparent town harlot, definite town drunk. The only person in this town people like less than me is you. If you're coming to me, you're screwed."

"You're mean." Mai's voice said.

Mary Margaret turned around to find that Killian, Phoebe, and Mai were standing behind her, and all of them were glaring at Leroy.

Leroy, with a scoff, walked around them and left the diner.

Killian looked at her sympathetically. "How about we sit down?"

Mary Margaret looked around at the diner sympathetically before, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Phoebe nudge Mai. A second later, Mai - with the cutest smile - grabbed her hand and began tugging her to a booth.

"Come on, Mary Margaret." Mai told her, blissfully unaware of the now diverted looks of the other patrons. "We can have hot chocolate. Oh hi Emma." Mai then waved at Emma, and directed Mary Margaret to Emma's booth.

Mary Margaret and Killian shared a look before looking at Phoebe, who was doing a semi-admirable job at pretending like she hadn't done anything. She was even whistling without looking at them.

Killian merely shook his head. He went over to the booth, and Emma briefly stood up so that he could give her a greeting kiss on the cheek.

Mary Margaret allowed the 4-year-old to guide her, and soon she, the girls, and Killian were sitting in the booth. Mary Margaret was next to Emma, who was sitting next to the wall, and Killian was sitting across from Emma. Mai was in between Killian and Phoebe, though Mai looked seconds away from trying to crawl into Killian's lap.

"Don't listen to Leroy." Killian told her. "He's more or less like this with everyone."

"It's not like he's the only one who's acting like this." Phoebe said grumpily, and Mary Margaret noted some light shadows under her eyes. Phoebe then looked around and practically glared at anyone who shifted their eyes in their, or rather Mary Margaret's, direction. "Everyone's being an ass-" Phoebe stopped herself once she caught the warning looks from Killian, Emma, and Mary Margaret, and especially when she saw the curious look from Mai. So, Phoebe corrected, "an assembly of mean people."

Mary Margaret caught the unimpressed and yet slightly amused looks from Killian and Emma.

Mary Margaret just sighed. "Don't worry about it." She told Phoebe. "I'll just...figure out how to work at my booth by myself."

Phoebe looked at her sympathetically.

"Ooh." Mai said perking up in her seat. "I know what can make you feel better."

"What's that, sweetie?" Mary Margaret asked.

"A bir-" Mai started before Phoebe's eyes widened, and she grabbed a napkin and slapped it over Mai's mouth. "What are you doing?" Mai's asked in an annoyed muffled voice.

"Um, uh, you're a bandit." Phoebe said unconvincingly as she shook out the napkin to place it over Mai's mouth. "That's the game right now, yeah."

"Play after breakfast." Killian told them, taking the napkin away despite the pout now present on Mai's face.

Mary Margaret tilted her head at the girls before looking at Killian and Emma curiously, noting that they seemed to know something she didn't.

Emma then looked at Mary Margaret. "So, remind me what Miner's Day is, and why you're beating yourself up over it." Emma then subtly pointed her eyes in the direction of the girls, who looked at Mary Margaret curiously.

Despite the pang of hurt it brought on, it did make Mary Margaret feel a little better to know that her teacher instincts were kicking in. That's why she answered, "It's an annual holiday celebrating an old tradition. The nuns used to make candles and trade them with the miners for coal."

"Oh yeah." Phoebe said with a dawning look of understanding. "I remember Mother Superior used to tell me this story."

"She did?" Mai asked her with a little hurt look. "She never told me."

Phoebe shrugged before saying, "Maybe she just forgot. Maybe she was waiting to you get older."

"You think so?" Mai asked, and when Phoebe nodded, she nodded to herself and seemed to forget the whole thing.

And yet to the adults assembled at the table, something seemed...amiss. There was a certain tension there, but none of them could really figure out what it was about. Maybe Mother Superior did just forget.

So why did something not seem right to Mary Margaret?

It was Emma who finally spoke, trying to break up the tension. "So, how come there are miners in Maine? I mean I'd get it if they were mining for lobster."

"Maybe that's why the mine shut down." Phoebe said with a shrug.

"That I don't know." Mary Margaret said. "They use it as a reason to hold a fundraiser. It's an amazing party. Everyone loves it."

 _It's me they can't stand_ , Mary Margaret thought, mindful to not let any of her misery show with two young girls present.

Still, something must've shown on her face, as Killian then said, "Well, if you don't have any volunteers, perhaps I could help?"

"Oh yeah, me too." Phoebe said as Mai added, "Me too- uh, three."

"You don't have to." Mary Margaret said, ready to reluctantly give them an out.

"I want to." Killian said. "And if the girls are up for it, then they can help too."

"Help with what?" Ruby asked as she finally came by. "Sorry about. A table took a while to decide on their order, and Nancy's busy in the back."

"Miner's Day." Mai said before Phoebe supplied, "Mary Margaret needs help with her booth, selling…" Phoebe looked at Mary Margaret, looking bashful as she forgot what it was Mary Margaret was offering.

"Candles." Mary Margaret supplied.

"Yep, that." Phoebe said.

"The problem is that I don't have a station close to where the festival is going to be." Mary Margaret admitted. "I can take my car, but…"

"But what?" Emma asked.

"Later." Mary Margaret told her, not wanting to get into how when she got up this morning, someone had spray painted the word "TRAMP" across her window.

"Oh, if you need a place to store that stuff, then we can use the backroom." Ruby said. "It's practically empty anyways."

Mary Margaret started, "You don't ha-"

"I'll go ahead and ask Granny." Ruby interrupted gently, though the way she looked at Mary Margaret made it clear that she wanted to help. "But first, what does everyone want to order?"

Mary Margaret couldn't help but smile at the looks on everyone's faces. Who knew helpful friends could be so determined?

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with going?" Dada asked Jefferson as they walked by the beach.

"Again, yes." Jefferson replied. "I might be able to handle the crowd there."

"Only if you're sure." Dada said, though she still remained uncertain. Of course, she would love to get to spend the day with him, but not at the expense of a potential panic attack. Still, and she didn't know why, but deep down she got the feeling that maybe he was just telling her what she wanted to here.

 _Maybe he thinks I'm going to get drunk again,_ she thought embarrassed.

Testing the waters to see if it were true, Dada made herself laugh a little. "I mean, I'll be fine if you don't go. Besides, it's not like they'll serve any drinks there."

Jefferson's brow furrowed, but he didn't seem mad at her. He only seemed...kind of sad.

That look only got worse after she said, "I'm really sorry about last night. I honestly can't remember when I had something to drink, but I guess-"

"It's not your fault." He was quick to interrupt her. He then grabbed her hand and squeezed it in his own.

"Seriously, I am sorry." Dada said contritely, but the look on his face didn't go away.

Feeling an old sense of panic rise up that she'd ruined the moment with her carelessness, Dada put on a smile and touched the necklace he gave her. "So, I really like this. Where did you get it?"

"Um, a jeweler's in town." Jefferson replied, his face only very marginally lighting up.

Maintaining that smile, Dada added, "It's really pretty. Thank you."

"No problem." Jefferson said before tugging her closer so they could walk together.

Despite the fact that he'd pulled her closer, Jefferson still seemed...off somehow, and something tightened up and sank in her stomach at realizing that it was her fault. She hadn't even meant to get drunk-

 _You never mean to do anything bad,_ a dark voice in Dada's voice said. _You're still stupid enough to do it and not think things through._

Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, Dada squeezed Jefferson's hand. She really, _really_ liked Jefferson, so much so that it was almost scary, and she didn't want to mess this up. So, she tried and failed to not let her mind swell with thoughts of her own inadequacies

Meanwhile, Jefferson's mind was filled with guilt over how Dada seemed to truly believe that she had gotten drunk. He was the one stupid enough to fall for Gold's lies, or rather his half-lies. He knew that Regina had her eyes on Dada, but now he knew that it was because Gold had set her on Dada.

And all because he wanted to test out that damn potion, which brought out both Rapunzel for a few moments, intermixed with Dada's own consciousness, before the potion died out and it was brutally suppressed. Now that Gold was done with her, Jefferson had no doubt that he could care less about whatever Regina might end up doing.

Jefferson hadn't protected her, and he couldn't even find a way to warn her about the danger she was in.

When they'd first met by this very beach, he had thought he might get someone to spend the day with, to forget his own loneliness. He hadn't anticipated meeting someone that was this kind, someone that he realized he had deep feelings for. He hadn't felt this way about someone since Priscilla was killed. He had never thought he'd find love again.

Looking at Dada, a worried look on her face, Jefferson couldn't help but stop them in their tracks, and then turn her towards him to kiss her.

Their lips pressed together, and both Jefferson and Dada, without saying it out loud, hoped that they would be worthy enough for the one they were kissing.

* * *

"So does everyone know the plan?" LJ asked the group while they sat on a bench on the school playground.

"We break into a cemetery when everyone's asleep." Paige replied. "You know, this is the part of a horror movie when the the dumb little kids get killed before the opening credits."

"Hey, no talk of horror movies alright?" LJ warned before gesturing to his face. "We both know what happens to the characters that look like me."

"Are we sure we want to do this?" Ava asked as she spared a glance at Henry and Declan, who were the only ones who still had enough energy to keep playing tag with each other.

"It seems kind of dangerous." Nick supplanted. "And weird."

"If you don't want to come, you don't have to." LJ told them.

All three of them gave him unamused looks.

Then Ava sighed, "I'll go with you. Besides, after everything you, Henry, and Declan did for me and Nick, it's only fair."

Nick paused before saying, "Ditto."

They all looked at Paige who simply said, "Hey, as long as we don't end up dying, I'm okay with this plan."

LJ smiled. "Cool. We should try meeting up at HQ the first chance we get."

"Speaking of which," Paige said, "I have some party strings at home that I can use to decorate the place."

"We should probably fix the window." Nick said. "I don't think the duct tape is working."

"Yeah, I'm almost freeze my butt off every time we go there." Ava complained.

"We can work on redecoration and everything later." LJ said firmly. " _After_ we go to the cemetery."

* * *

 _Everything seems to be here,_ Graham thought as he took pictures of Kathryn's car, _except for the driver._

The station had gotten a call from a man named Jim, a gym teacher at the elementary school, that a car had been abandoned near the town line. Already suspecting something was off, Graham and Emma drove to the scene. Once they got there, it didn't take long to find the car's registration in the glovebox, and discern who the car belonged to.

Graham took a picture through the window to document the boxes inside. One large was was labeled "Shirts" and another "School things". Kathryn had been heading somewhere, and likely for awhile, but where?

"You know if Kathryn was heading somewhere?" Emma asked him as she searched the area around the car.

"Not to my knowledge." Graham told her as he took more photos. He heard a car pull up close to them, and when he turned to see who it was he groaned, "Oh no."

"What is it?" Emma asked before quietly groaning as well upon seeing that it was Sidney walking towards them with a camera in his hand.

"Sidney, this is police business." Graham said stepping up to the man, stopping him in his tracks. "These are not photos I want leaked in _The Daily Mirror_. And before you say you want to help us, don't worry, we've already taken the necessary photos."

"Or it could help get the word out on who this car belongs to." Sidney suggested before quietly observing Graham. The quiet part ended when he suggested, "Unless you already know who this car belongs to."

Graham...didn't like this man. Personally, he didn't hold much against him, but Graham knew that whatever else Sidney did, he would always help Regina. That much Graham had learned over the years.

From the looks of it, Sidney didn't like him either, though Graham knew that it had less to due with professional differences than Sidney's inane jealousy of Graham holding Regina's attention.

However much Graham didn't trust the man, he wouldn't want to inflict Regina's 'attention' on anyone.

Sidney then continued, "Judging by the state of the car, I'm betting it's been abandoned. Care to comment?"

Graham immediately replied, "No comment aside from sending an official statement _later_."

Sidney wouldn't stop. "Sheriff, all I'm saying is-"

"I know what you're saying." Graham interrupted. "Now please leave before I have to arrest your for obstructing a police investigation."

"By asking a few questions?" Sidney asked incredulously. "You know I have rights."

"That only extend as far as you doing nothing that may impede or threaten the integrity of an investigation." Graham said seriously. "Which includes posting photos of a potential crime scene that may be used later in court. Now move out, Sidney."

Sidney looked to Emma, who merely raised an eyebrow to let him know that he wasn't getting anything out of her. With a defeated look, Sidney got back in his car and drove off.

"Damn." Emma said amusedly. "You sure exercised your rights as sheriff."

"I don't trust that man as far as I can throw him." Graham told her seriously. "We agree right now that the fewer people that know- no, the fewer people that are directly in Regina's pocket that know what we do, the better."

"Agreed." Emma said. "So what do you think happened?"

"Not sure." Graham said. "We should find out who she talked to last to see if they might know where Kathryn was going."

"Mhmm." Emma hummed. "I'll call the mechanic to have them see if there was a failure with the car."

" _If_?" Graham asked.

"Well, I'm not seeing any signs that someone deliberately ran her off the road." Emma said as she walked around the car. "It doesn't look like there are any major dents. Still, I'd like to know how bad the problem apparently was to make Kathryn walk off."

"If she walked off." Graham said.

Now it was Emma's turned to question him on the 'if'. "What are you thinking?" She asked him.

"I'm trying not to assume anything." Graham told her. "I'm just...I don't have a good feeling about this."

Emma paused before saying, "Me too, but we're going to find her."

"Oh yes." Graham said, resolute in making sure that someone from his town would be alright. "On that we can agree."

* * *

"Have a good day!" Phoebe and Mai chimed in unison as the door of the house they just sold candles to shut. Phoebe safely deposited the money in an envelope before putting it in her backpack. She then grabbed Mai's hand and led her down the stairs.

"Next house." Mai said as they began walking, pouting when Phoebe wouldn't let her pull the wagon full of candles.

 _Let's hope we finish up soon,_ Phoebe thought to herself as they began walking again. _I really want to help out Sister Astrid._

She and Mai had been waiting for Killian at the elementary school when they came upon Sister Astrid and Mother Superior's booth. Before they could even say hi, Phoebe overheard Sister Astrid admit that she bought _way_ too much helium. Like, seriously, a ridiculous amount of helium that blew the budget, and they would be seriously screwed if they didn't make enough money to pay the rent.

Luckily, and surprisingly, Leroy the Grump - as Phoebe had begun to call him in her head - had a solution, since he too had listened in without anyone realizing it.

He had the idea that, since Mary Margaret hadn't pre-arranged for the money to go somewhere else, they could donate it to the nuns.

It was actually...a pretty good idea, but it still hinged on them being able to sell all of the candles to make up the difference.

Which is how Phoebe and Mai found themselves walking the streets of Storybrooke to sell some candles, using cuteness, a fairly decent sale's pitch, and a hint of laying on guilt at Mai's timed pouts to sell a few candles.

Killian had wanted to come, but something came up, and they were both too impatient to wait until the festival.

Looking at their still fairly full wagon, Phoebe tried not to sigh.

Mai didn't seem to notice, as she asked, "Is this going to help Sister Astrid?"

Phoebe put on a smile as she replied, "I think so. Even if it's just a little. We're doing a good job."

Mai skipped a little in happiness.

Phoebe tried to share her optimism, though she could only manage an outward mimic of it.

Looking around the street, Phoebe nearly froze when she saw Mr. Gold walking on the street on the other side of the road.

On impulse, despite knowing that it was a long shot, Phoebe crossed the street, Mai following behind her.

"Mr. Gold." Phoebe called out, but the man didn't seem to hear her. "Mr. Gold, wait."

Only then did Mr. Gold stop and turn around, looking at Phoebe boredly before catching a glimpse at Mai. That's when something in his eyes...changed. He seemed to focus more intently on her, and something in Phoebe's gut tightened horribly.

"Uh, wait a little over there." Phoebe told Mai, directing her to a spot on the street several feet away. When Mai hesitated, Phoebe turned the wagon around and gave her the handle, "Watch the wagon."

"Okay." Mai said before pulling the wagon to where Phoebe pointed, looking at Gold curiously.

Phoebe looked back at Gold, already regretting this, and said, "Mr. Gold, I wanted to talk to you about-"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Gold said in a relatively loud voice before hurriedly whispering to her, "You know the rules - no meeting in public at daytime."

Phoebe responded with, "I know, but I wanted to know if I could-"

"Ask for more money?" Gold asked. "My goodness, you are becoming dreadfully predictable."

Phoebe opened her mouth again, but Gold raised his hand to silence her.

"You've already broken one cardinal rule." Gold warned her in a low voice. "And lately you've been reticent with news about your guardian and the sheriff, and I don't reward bad employees." He then leaned forward just a bit with an angered look, and Phoebe just barely pushed back the urge to step back. "Don't push your luck."

Gold then turned around and left, leaving Phoebe standing there with a cold feeling in her body that had nothing to do with the cold air.

"Phoebe?" Mai asked as she tugged the wagon back over to her, watching Gold walk away. "Isn't that the bad man? What'd he say?"

"It's nothing." Phoebe said, feeling defeated as she grabbed the wagon's handle again, giving Mai a smile. "Come on, my little salesperson, we have candles to sell."

* * *

" _It's going to be alright." Nova told Thumbelina, who was quietly crying in one of the flowers. "I promise you that."_

" _How?" Thumbelina sobbed. "How can it be alright?"_

_Nova's heart broke at the young girl's plight, trying to think of what else to say._

" _Why sad?" Tien, the little toddler that Thumbelina found, asked as she waddled over._

_Thumbelina shook her head miserably, so Nova supplied, "She's sad about her mother."_

" _Mama?" Tien asked as she looked around._

" _No Mama." Nova replied, and Tien's lip wobbled. Nova soothingly added, "Shh, it's fine. Um, uh, ooh, look at me."_

_Nova used her magic to shine more brightly, and Tien laughed in glee, though Nova had to dodge the toddler's attempts to grab her with her chubby fingers._

" _Gently, child." Nova laughed, sparing a glance to Thumbelina who curled in on herself, and her humor died away a bit._

" _Nova, a moment please." Blue said, suddenly appearing. She spared a remorseful glance at Thumbelina, but strangely she sent an almost distrustful look at Tien._

What could Blue have to be distrustful about, _Nova thought to herself, though she tried not to think on it further. Blue had her reasons._

_With a promise that she'd be back, Nova flew away with Blue. Not so far as to lose sight of the girls, but just enough so that they wouldn't be overheard._

" _What is it, Blue?" Nova asked her._

" _How has Thumbelina been doing?" Blue asked her._

_Nova hesitated before saying, "As...as well as can be expected, though she greatly mourns her mother."_

" _Of course." Blue said with a furrow in her brow. She tried not to show how much Barbara's death had stung her, but Nova and the others knew that Blue had a special place in her heart for Barbara, despite her attempts to simply put it off as her duty as Barbara's former fairy godmother._

_Blue then said, "We'll keep Thumbelina with us."_

" _Of course." Nova replied._

" _And we'll find a human family for Tien." Blue added._

 _Nova, if she were honest, wasn't entirely surprised. After all, she didn't know if it was allowed for them to raise a little girl, but something about Blue's wording seemed odd to her. Then it hit her. "I'm sorry._ Human _family?"_

_Blue looked at her then. "I'm guessing your sensed something about her when we met her, correct?"_

_Nova nodded slowly, though she admitted, "Yes, but it's...strange. She_ feels _like one of us, but...also not? Is she a halfling? I thought they were only a myth."_

_Blue shook her head, and maybe Nova was wrong, but she looked almost worried by something. Regardless, Blue straightened her back and said, "It is best that we find her a human family as soon as possible, to help her readjust."_

" _But...what about her mother?" Nova questioned._

" _She's nowhere to be found." Blue replied quickly._

_Nova started, "But how can you-"_

" _Nova." Blue interrupted, and Nova quieted down. "Trust me. Tien's mother is nowhere to be found, and I believe that's for the best."_

_Nova wanted to ask why Blue thought that way, why she was so sure Tien's mother couldn't be found, but she knew that doing so would be fruitless. Once Blue had her mind set on something, it would be hard to change it._

_Looking over, Nova was able to see Tien reached into the flower Thumbelina was housed in, before pulling her hand back, where Thumbelina was standing on it. She then watched as Thumbelina went to Tien's shoulder, and remained there as Tien seemed to babble about something._

" _She'll miss her." Nova observed. "Thumbelina. She'll miss Tien."_

_Blue looked over at the girls as well. "For a time, but in the end, she'll know it was for the best. Come along. We need to see if any human families want a child."_

* * *

Emma looked up from photos Graham took of the crime scene to see Ray walk into the station. "Hey." She greeted.

"Hey yourself." Ray replied. "Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to go over some quick details before I filed the custody motion to the judge."

"Look, I'd love to, but I've got to go over this case." Emma replied.

Ray looked down at the photos, and asked, "Is someone hurt?"

"We don't know." Graham said as he emerged from his office. "By any chance have you seen Kathryn No- Antonis?"

Ray shook his head to Emma's disappointment. Not that she expected much. They'd already called Kathryn's father, and David just in case, but neither of them had seen her.

In fact, David had told them that Kathryn had been planning on leaving for Boston, but he hadn't realized that she planned on going so soon. Kathryn's car was already at the mechanic's, and they were trying to identify what the failure was. However, even if Kathryn was ready to leave Storybrooke without saying goodbye, why wouldn't she be in or near her car when it failed? If it had broken down, it would've made more sense for her to go back into town to get someone to help her rather than take her chances on the road. And why would she abandon all of her things inside it, including the car keys?

Emma had a sinking suspicion that something bad had happened, but she had to hold onto some hope that they would find Kathryn unharmed and alive.

 _Okay,_ Emma thought to herself. _Who would gain something from getting Kathryn out of the way? Obvious suspects would be David, who might have wanted a faster divorce, or Mary Margaret, the suspected mistress, but neither of them are capable of this. Besides, from what I heard, Kathryn wasn't objecting to her divorce or trying to drag it out. Hell, she was trying to speed it up. Who else would want Kathryn gone?_

"How was the divorce going?" Emma asked Ray.

"Emma-" Ray started.

"I know, I know, court and legal stuff." Emma said. "Just that...did you get any indication that Kathryn _didn't_ want the divorce."

"Definitely not." Ray said. "Without revealing too much, she and David wanted to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Thought so." Emma muttered before asking aloud, "Did she have any enemies? Maybe someone she owed money to or someone with a grudge?"

Ray shrugged as Graham said, "We can try talking to her friends and family."

"I can give you her father's address. I saw it enough times when we were arguing over assets distribution." Ray said.

"That'd be great, Ray." Graham said as he handed him a pen and paper.

"I'm going to talk to David." Emma said grabbing her coat. "Maybe he knows more about where she might've gone, or who might've wanted to hurt her."

"You think she's…" Ray trailed off uncertainly.

"I don't know." Emma said. "We're going to find out though."

"Want me to come with you?" Graham asked.

Emma shook her head. "No, we should try to cover as much ground and as quickly as possible before Sidney gets a chance to snoop around on his own."

"Good point." Graham said. "I'll go interview the father."

"And I'll work on our case." Ray said to Emma. "Hey, you want me to ask around the court to see if anyone knows anything."

"If you can." Emma said, and soon the three of them were off.

She didn't get very far before she was immediately confronted by Phoebe and Mai, the former pulling a wagon full of...candles?

"Hi Emma." Phoebe said in greeting.

"Hey." Emma replied, not at all surprised when Mai went forward to hug her leg as she always did. Emma waved away Graham and Ray, who looked at her confusedly, before addressing the girls. "What are you doing here?"

"We're selling candles." Mai said as she let Emma go.

"Where's Killian?" Emma asked as she looked around.

"Right here." Killian said as he ran up to them with Lady on a leash, looking at the girls unamusedly. "I thought I told you to stay within sight."

"We were doing fine on our own before." Phoebe retorted before catching the warning look on Killian's face, immediately capitulating with "Sorry."

"Hey." Emma greeted him, unable to stop herself from smiling at the sight of him, and especially unable to stop herself from kissing him on the lips.

"Awww." Mai said softly as they pulled away from each other.

Emma couldn't help but blush at the endeared look on Mai's face, or the way Phoebe looked away from them.

"So, um, want some candles?" Phoebe asked before dully adding, "We've got plenty."

"Um, I don't…" Emma trailed off, looking to Killian for help.

"We're gonna help Sister Astrid and the nuns." Mai told her.

After Emma sent a look at him, Killian quickly explained the situation with Sister Astrid, how the proceeds from the candle sales would go to them, and, more quietly, how things weren't exactly looking good.

"I, uh, wish I could help, but I'm on a case right now." Emma said regretfully, causing the girls to deflate.

"It'll be fine." Killian said trying to comfort them as he walked over. "Besides, you two will be too busy having fun at the festival."

"Are you sure you can't come earlier?" Phoebe asked him.

"Afraid not." Killian said. "I have to clear up some things before I get there, but that shouldn't stop you two from having fun. You can even take Lady."

Mai cheered at that. "Emma, are you coming?"

Emma hesitantly shook her head. "I don't think so. I might have more work than I thought."

"Should I tell Henry?" Killian asked understandingly.

"No, I'll tell him myself." Emma said before she kissed him no the cheek. "I've got get going. Have fun at the festival, girls. Stay safe."

"Bye Emma." They said to her, with Lady even giving her a yip, as Emma got into her car, and with a final wave drove away.

Once she was out of view, Emma sighed, hating how despite wanting to spend time today with Henry, she knew that duty called. She would have to make it up to Henry somehow.

* * *

Henry walked around the Miner's Day festival excitedly, he and his friends mostly walking together as they went through the different stations.

"Ooh, Henry hi." Phoebe said as she and Mai approached, Phoebe holding Lady's leash.

"Hi." Henry said before looking around. "Where's Killian?"

"He's busy." Phoebe replied. "Where's your mom?"

"At work." Henry said.

"Why's Emma working?" Phoebe asked with a tilt of her head.

Henry furrowed his brow, unable to hide all of his concern as he bent down to pet Lady. "I don't know." He admitted. "She had to do something."

Something that she wouldn't tell him about over the phone. He had to admit, he was really disappointed that they wouldn't get to spend Miner's Day together. It would be his first time celebrating it.

Also, the way Emma had talked to him seemed...off. She claimed that she just wanted to check on him and say sorry about not being able to go today, but she seemed a little shifty. His mom was a living lie detector, but she wasn't the best liar.

 _Maybe something bad happened,_ Henry thought. _If it was just a theft or something, she would've just sad so. The fact that she wouldn't means something bad is going on._

"Henry." Phoebe said, bringing him back to reality. She was looking down at him curiously, and Henry was a little startled to see that Mai was also playing with Lady. "You okay?"

"Fine." Henry lied, stamping down his worry. "So, uh, want to hang out?"

"Sure." Phoebe said. "Killian isn't here yet, and Mary Margaret won't let us sell anymore candles because she wants us to have fun."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked as he stood up, and they started walking around.

Phoebe quickly explained that she and Mai had been trying to sell candles to help Mary Margaret, to help the nuns, but they hadn't exactly hit their quota.

"Ouch." Henry said upon hearing that rent for the nuns was due soon, and if they didn't make it, Mr. Gold...wouldn't be happy.

"Yeah." Phoebe said before telling Mai, who had run ahead, "Stay in sight."

"Look, look!" Mai shouted as she half-carried, half-dragged a little boy she was hugging in their direction. Upon closer inspection, Henry realized that she was hugging Fernando. And not too far behind was Nancy.

"Excuse me." Nancy said as she speed walked to catch up to Mai. "Excuse me, can I have my son back please?"

"Um...okay." Mai said before stopping, though she and Fernando still held each other. Mai looked at Phoebe and Henry and said, "Look, he's my new friend."

"Mhmm!" Fernando hummed as his mother gently disentangled the two from each other, and held Fernando's hand, and Phoebe doing the same with Mai.

"Mai, say sorry." Phoebe said with a raised eyebrow.

"Why?" Mai asked confusedly.

"Because you kind of kidnapped someone?" Phoebe questioned before hurriedly telling Nancy, "An absolutely adorable and utterly not-arrestable kidnapping?"

"Smooth." Henry snarked, barely dodging the way she tried to nudge his side.

"I'm Phoebe." She greeted, shaking Nancy's hand. "And this adorably criminal bean is Mai."

"I'm not a bean." Mai protested.

Nancy gave a little laugh as she said, "I'm Nancy. It's nice to meet you even though Mai tried to make off with my son. Fernando, did you say hi?"

"Hi." Fernando said, waving exclusively at Mai.

"You kids at the festival by yourself?" Nancy asked.

"We're waiting for our dad." Phoebe said before seeming to realize that she called Killian dad. "Um, Henry's here with us, so it's totally cool."

"Actually I'm here with my friends." Henry corrected. When he realized the wording of what he said, Henry quickly added, "Um, you guys are great, but you know, my friends are here."

"Wow." Phoebe said in the most deadpan voice. "I really felt that."

Henry tried not to roll his eyes before Declan suddenly came into view. "Henry, dude, come on. We found a game booth."

"Hi Dec." Fernando greeted as he walked towards Declan.

"Hi Hobbit." Declan greeted excitedly, and to Henry's surprise he watched as Declan picked up Fernando in a hug, mindful to keep ahold of his egg as well. "You eating second breakfast?"

"Mommy won't let me." Fernando said.

"And by 'second breakfast', he means I won't give him too much bacon." Nancy said with a raised eyebrow. "Even though I keep telling him that it'll make him sick."

"Nuh uh." Fernando protested at the same time Mai eagerly asked, "Bacon?"

"No bacon." Phoebe said, and Mai looked at her with an expression of utter betrayal that Henry tried very hard not to smile or laugh at.

"Hey, you mind if we take Fernando to the games over there?" Declan asked Nancy.

"No, he's my new friend." Mai protested, reaching up to grab Fernando's ankle.

Declan lightly and playfully glared at her as he looked at Fernando. "How could you, Hobbit?"

Fernando's jaw dropped before his lip wobbled, clearly too young for the concept of sarcasm.

Declan, realizing his error, immediately stammered, "Uh, um, I-I meant how could you not introduce me to your new friend? She's my friend's sort mini-person." He glanced at Nancy, whose arms were crossed over her chest as she stared hard at him.

Fernando, seeming to forget what he was upset about, perked up and said, "She's M...M…" He looked down and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Mai, Hob." Mai replied.

"Who's Hob?" Fernando asked curiously as Declan put him down.

"You are." Mai giggled.

Fernando glared cutely. "No, I'm Fernando."

"And you two are going to play." Nancy said before sending Declan an apologetic grin. "Sorry."

"Eh, it's fine." Declan said with a carefree wave of his hand. "Besides, Henry has to go and win me a stuffed animal."

"Henry has to do what now?" Henry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Declan smirked. "Come on," he said before he grabbed his hand and pulling him in the direction of the game booths.

"See you!" Henry called out to the girls, Nancy, and Fernando with a wave as Declan continued leading him away.

The booth they ended up in front of was one of those ring toss games where you had to land a ring around the rim of a glass bottle. The glass bottles were three different colors: red, blue, and green. The red bottles were worth five points, the blue bottles were worth ten points, while the red bottles were worth 15 points. The goal of the game was to get as many points as you could to get a good prize, and Henry had his eyes on a giant gummy bear-shaped plastic case filled with a lots of gummy bears.

"You're not going to play?" Henry asked Declan as he handed the booth guy money.

"I'm saving up." Declan said as he held onto his egg.

"You sure?" Henry asked as he was handed the rings.

"Yeah." Declan with a shrug. "Besides, I have you here to win me something."

"Again, Henry will do what?" Henry asked rhetorically before a bell announced that the game was starting. Henry slowly took his time, but he ended up getting a 5-point bottle instead of the 15-point bottle he was aiming for. He tried not to become nervous as his prize was worth 55 points, and he only had four more chances to get it.

The next shot was a 15-point bottle. Henry took a breath as Declan encouraged him by reminding him that he now had 20 points.

 _35 more points to go,_ Henry thought as he tossed another ring.

"Crap." Henry said quietly as he got another 10-pointer.

"It's good, it's good." Declan told him. "You only need 25 more points."

Henry tossed it again, and it was all he could do not to groan in frustration when he hit another ten points.

Either he got a 15-pointer, or he wasn't going home with those gummy bear.

"You've got this." Declan told him. "You've totally got this."

"Okay." Henry breathed out before focusing, taking aim, and with a little wish, he tossed the ring. "Oh!" Henry shouted as it was about to hit a 5-pointer...before it wrapped around a 15-pointer.

"Yeah!" Declan shouted as he side-hugged Henry with his free arm.

"Choose your prize, kid." The booth owner said.

Henry opened his mouth to say he wanted the gummy bears, but then he spotted something nearby that was also worth 55-points. It was a little wooden case with decorations engraved in the wood, with padding that was probably meant to act as a sort of pillow for whatever was put it in. Of their own accord, Henry's eyes strayed to the fake egg in Declan's hand. He remembered all the times Declan would complain that he didn't always feel safe carrying his egg in his backpack, because he worried that it would get crushed by something.

 _It'd be the nice thing to do,_ Henry thought, and with some reluctance he said, "The case, please."

The owner soon gave it to them as Henry and Declan moved away to give people room to play the game themselves.

"Cool box." Declan commented as they walked. "What's it for?"

"It's for you." Henry said as he brought them to a stop without blocking foot traffic. He then opened up the case and said, "Here. For your egg."

Declan took a moment before he seemed to realize Henry's words, and looked between Henry's face and the case. "Seriously?" Declan asked in a soft voice.

"Well, yeah." Henry said shyly. "I thought that, well, since you're always worrying about the egg getting crushed in your backpack, you can put it in here. Look, there's even a latch thing so that it doesn't open up all of a sudden." When Declan said nothing, Henry blushed embarrassed and said, "Sorry, I didn't-"

"Don't be sorry." Declan said hurriedly with a shy smile. "It's great. Thanks."

"Really?" Henry asked encouraged.

"Yeah." Declan replied as he put the egg in the box, and closed it with the latch. Declan had a light blush on his cheeks that paired with his somewhat flustered expression. "Thanks." He said.

"No problem." Henry said before slinging an arm around Declan's shoulders, causing them to walk again. "Come on. There are more game booths over there."

Unbeknownst to them, LJ had been in the process of looking for them when he caught their interaction. He had noticed that the two of them were a little more touchy-feely than usual, and how they had both had this kind of cute blush on their cheeks as they watched. LJ didn't know why, but there was a little smile on his face as he watched Henry and Declan walk through the crowd close together.

* * *

Mary Margaret ran despite the pain in her legs, barely making it up to the roof in time to see Leroy on the ledge.

"Leroy!" Mary Margaret called out as she climbed onto the roof from the hatch. "What are you doing?" Once she'd gotten both of her feet onto the roof, she went over to Leroy and pleaded, "Please don't do it."

Leroy looked at her strangely. "I'm not gonna jump."

 _...huh?_ , Mary Margaret thought as she asked, "You're not?" After their conversation in Granny's, she was really worried he was about to do something rash, but now she wondered just what he was up to.

"No. Are you crazy?" Leroy asked incredulously. "I could hit someone. You know how much damage I could do? I'm solidly built."

Then what was he…

"Leroy, what are you doing up here?" Mary Margaret asked him.

"I'm gonna get my moment." Leroy said, holding onto an axe that Mary Margaret, assured that he wasn't going to jump, only now noticed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?!" Mary Margaret asked.

"You might wanna duck." Leroy said before he prepared to swing.

Mary Margaret immediately ducked down, and a second later sparks shot out from a generator as Mary Margaret covered her head. When she looked up, everything was in darkness. The crowd at the festival immediately began complaining, and looking over the ledge, she saw that all of the lights at the festival were completely out.

Mary Margaret raised her eyebrows at the scene. "What are you doing?"

Leroy looked over at her and smirked. "I'm selling candles sister."

The two of them hurriedly went back inside, and then walked as quickly as they could back to their booth.

"Ooh, Phoebe, hi." Mary Margaret said upon spotting the teenager.

"Hi." Phoebe said. "What is it?"

"I need you to do me another favor." Mary Margaret said quickly as Leroy began lighting up the candles in their booth. "I need you to tell as many people as you can that our booth is selling candles."

Despite the darkness, Mary Margaret could practically see Phoebe's face light up as she said, "Let me get my glow stick."

"Your what?" Mary Margaret asked, but Phoebe already took off. By the time Mary Margaret got to her and Leroy's booth, she got her answer.

Soon, she saw Phoebe and Tien running around shouting "Candles! Get your candles!" as their waved around their glow sticks, acting as little lights to lead the way.

Soon Mary Margaret and Leroy were handing out candle after candle, and not for the first time she marveled at the downright genius of Leroy's potentially criminal act. Just this once, Mary Margaret would look the other way.

"Excuse us, small child coming throu- god, watch where you're going." Declan grumbled as he pushed through the crowd with Fernando in his arms, Nancy following behind.

"Hi Declan." Mary Margaret greeted. "Want a candle?"

"Yes, please." Declan said as he handed her some money. "You know how many people I've bumped into and didn't apologize to?"

"I can only imagine." Mary Margaret smirked as she handed him a candle, before doing the same with Nancy.

"Wow." Nancy said with a smile. "Looks like you guys are doing well."

"Well, we got lucky." Leroy said with a knowing smirk sent Mary Margaret's way, and she could only shake her head with a chagrined look.

They sold more and more candles, so much so that people were practically swarming their booth. It became harder to find them, as they started throwing away more empty boxes as time went on.

And then there was nothing but empty boxes.

She and Leroy looked around, but upon realizing that they had nothing left, Mary Margaret looked at him with an elated smile and said, "Leroy...we sold out!"

Both of them laughed happily as they hugged, and when they parted Mary Margaret noticed that Leroy was looking at Sister Astrid. She quickly collected the lockbox with the money, and handed it to the mand. "Go on. Be the hero." She said with a smile.

Leroy smiled back, and quickly went over to tell Sister Astrid the good news.

Despite everything that had happened before, Mary Margaret smiled as she felt some of the weight that had been on her shoulders disappear.

* * *

Phoebe looked around, and saw that Sister Astrid was excitedly hugging Leroy, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was the first time she'd ever seen Leroy genuinely happy, and from the looks of it, Sister Astrid was happy to be around him too. She didn't know the whole story there, but if Leroy of all people was the one that made Sister Astrid smile, then maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

Walking closer to them, Phoebe asked, "How's everything going?"

Sister Astrid turned to look at her, and immediately pulled Phoebe into a hug.

Hugging her back, Phoebe said, "So everything's good then."

"Yes." Sister Astrid said with a laugh as she pulled back. She then put a hand on Leroy's shoulder, causing the man to smile shyly. Sister Astrid then held up a metal lockbox. "Leroy just gave me this. They sold the rest of the candles."

Phoebe smiled wildly as she looked at Leroy. "Nice!" She then raised her hand to give him a high-five.

Leroy looked at it warily as she said, "Um, I don't-"

"Come on." Phoebe goaded, deliberately glancing at Sister Astrid, which was enough to get Leroy the Not-So-Grump to high five her.

"I can't wait to tell Mai." Sister Astrid said, and just the happily relieved look on her face was enough to get Leroy to smile again.

"I'll tell her." Phoebe promised before walking off to find her sister, leaving Sister Astrid and Leroy alone.

Last time she saw Mai, she was with Nancy and Fernando. Phoebe couldn't help but smile. From the looks of it, Tien found an actual friend that didn't include her, Killian, nuns, or a bunch of 10-year-olds. Okay, some of them were older than 10, but what was really the difference?

Now Phoebe hoped she could get a friend of her own.

Phoebe searched for Mai, and her eyes wandered all over, but she couldn't quite find Mai yet. Just as she was about to ask someone, she spotted a familiar person. Unfortunately, this person was Gold, and luckily he hadn't spotted her.

As always, Phoebe was filled with a certain sense of dread at having Gold near her or anyone she loved. What had she been thinking? She knew the rules. No talking to Gold where other people could see. And now he might be ready to retaliate somehow, to remind her that she was firmly under his boot, and Phoebe felt a cold sweat break over her body.

She hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately, less than usual in fact. Late at night, when everyone else was asleep and she couldn't do anything to distract herself, Phoebe would lie awake in bed pondering about the horrible person she was. It was either that, or have nightmares of Killian kicking her and Mai out, becoming so disgusted after realizing what she did that he never wanted to see them again. Both of them forced to leave because it was all Phoebe's fault.

After all, no one good ever spied on a man who was kind enough to take two girls in, who treated her like she was…

Phoebe swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to look around but she couldn't focus. She felt a mild sense of panic well inside her. She couldn't help it. Sometimes Mai would just take off because something drew her eye, and she didn't know what people could be like. Her sister was too little to realize that there was just as much bad in the world as there was good.

 _Sister,_ Phoebe thought again to herself. It was true though. Whenever Phoebe looked at Mai, she didn't see a little girl she lived with, or someone to just look after. She saw her little sister, and she'd do anything to protect her.

 _Get ahold of yourself already,_ Phoebe thought to herself. _No crying now. You've got things to do._

* * *

" _Why are you doing this?" Thumbelina demanded as Blue approached her and Nova, having deposited Tien at a human house about one hundred feet away. "Why can't she stay with us?"_

" _You know why." Blue said firmly, though she couldn't quite make eye contact with Thumbelina._

" _You said why, but I still don't get it." Thumbelina argued, her heart still hurting over having to say goodbye to Tien. It hadn't been very long, but she'd already become attached to the baby. Her heart was also filled with anger over learning what Tien was, and confusion as to why she was being sent away. "Why are you throwing out a fairy baby?"_

" _She's not being thrown away." Blue countered a touch impatiently. "She'll be adopted by a human family."_

" _But_ why _?" Thumbelina asked again, her cheeks beginning to flush in anger. "You always said that we have to look out for each other. You're keeping me, why not her?"_

" _Because-" Blue stopped herself, and both Thumbelina and Nova noticed how Blue seemed more conflicted now than she did before._

_Blue looked at the two of them and sighed. "I suppose...you're only going to continue asking questions." She then added with a serious look. "Whatever I say here cannot be repeated to anyone else. It would only cause undue panic?"_

" _Why?" Thumbelina asked at the same time Nova agreed to Blue's terms._

_Blue looked at Thumbelina intensely before asking, "Do you remember the stories you were told...about the Black Fairy?"_

_Thumbelina and Nova nodded slowly._

" _Have you ever heard about what the Black Fairy did to human children?" Blue asked them._

" _That she stole children." Nova supplied. "That they were never seen again."_

" _And that before she would take the human babies to her realm, she would usually leave behind...a certain type of fairy." Blue added. "These 'fairies' weren't like us. The Black Fairy would use magic to create perfect copies of human children, but they were neither human nor true fairies. They were...deformed. They were born wingless, their magic limited yet unpredictable, and in some cases..." Blue trailed off with the slightest shudder. "It was a dark time before I was able to banish the Black Fairy, and I thought I had been able to stop her from creating anymore…" Blue turned her head in the direction of the human home. "Until now."_

_Thumbelina felt her stomach drop as Nova blurted out, "That can't be true. Tien looked fine."_

" _With one vital difference." Blue told them. "She doesn't have wings, and likely never will, meaning that if she lives with us, she'll always try to attain an unreachable goal. She'll never realize the full of fairydom."_

" _There's...no way we can help her?" Thumbelina asked, feeling sorrowful for the poor little girl. Her mother was a monster, and now her own kind would have to turn their backs on her?_

_Blue nodded sadly. "It's for the best. At least with humans, she'll think-"_

_Tien screamed fearfully in the human home, and without another thought Thumbelina began running in that direction. Nova and Blue shot forward ahead of her, throwing the front door open with magic, and not for the first time Thumbelina hated that she wasn't faster or perhaps bigger._

_Tien came running out of the open door, sobbing with tears streaming down her face, and a scaly monster reached out trying to grab her. Thumbelina distantly noted that he kept his other hand close to his mother, and unless she was mistaken, she saw a single tooth mark on it._

_Blue and Nova sent magic at him, and he brought a hand up to block the attack._

" _Leave her alone!" Thumbelina screamed as the monster with lizard skin and yellow eyes tried to grab Tien once more. Thumbelina waved her arms. "Tien, over here!"_

" _Come now, you've no need of her." The monster nearly giggled as Tien came over to Thumbelina, grabbing her and bringing Thumbelina up to her shoulder, shaking in fear._

" _What do_ you _want with her?" Blue demanded._

" _You care what happens to a changeling? The monster asked, and he sent a blast of magic in their direction._

_Blue and Nova dodged the attack, and Blue waved her wand in Thumbelina and Tien's direction. She saw that they were floating, and Blue shouted, "Thumbelina, think of home, and the magic will do the rest!"_

" _Get back here!" The monster shouted, trying to reel them back, but Thumbelina thought of her mother's shack on impulse, and she and Tien shot through the air and away from the battle._

_Tien was sobbing as they flew away, and Thumbelina tried to soothe her._

" _It's okay." Thumbelina said. "We're away from the bad man."_

" _Mama." Tien cried out, and Thumbelina winced as she thought of how they just got away from one monster, but Tien was crying out for another one._

" _It'll be okay." Thumbelina told her, reaching up to gently rub the part of Tien's cheek she could reach. "It'll be okay. I'm here."_

" _Thumbee?" Tien asked in a wobbly voice._

" _Yep, Thumbee." Thumbelina said, not bothering to correct her. She looked behind them, and saw the battle disappear behind them as they soared through the sky. "I'm right here. As long as you're with me, I'll look for you. I promise...I'll be there."_

* * *

Despite the darkness the festival had been plunged it - which had almost immediately been followed by Declan's "Oh for fuck's sake!" - Henry was still having fun at the festival. He and the other still had their candles lit up, which helped them guide themselves through the sea of people. Henry watched as Declan held his candle in one hand while the other held onto the box Henry won for him.

"You having fun, man?" Declan asked him.

"Yeah!" Henry said with a smile.

Declan smiled a little before it became shy. "Hey, uh, thanks again for the box. My egg will appreciate it."

"No problem." Henry said.

"Ava, Nick." Someone called out, and soon Henry saw Nick run into the arms of his dad, hugging him in greeting. "You having fun?" The man asked with a smile.

"Yep." Nick said looking up at him adoredly. "I can't believe you made it."

"What? I couldn't miss Miner's Day." Mr. Tillman said kindly as he waved Ava over. "You not going to give me a hug?"

Ava hesitated before hugging the man. It wasn't like she disliked it. In fact, she seemed happy, but there was something in the way she held onto him, like she was afraid he was going to disappear.

Henry wasn't surprised, given what happened to her and Nick both here and in the Enchanted Forest.

Even seeing the way Mr. Tillman interacted with Nick and Ava filled Henry with longing, and without meaning to, he imagined him and Killian the same way.

In his mind's eye, he saw himself hug Killian in greeting. He imagined walking around the festival with Killian with him, going around and having fun with someone he looked up to. Someone who he thought of as, well, the closest thing to a dad he could have.

When Emma started dating Killian, Henry was happy for her. He even told her as much. What he didn't tell her was that a secret part of him hoped that if things went really well, and they got married, then maybe Killian could be his dad for real.

For the longest time, he'd wondered who his parents were. When he met Emma, he initially wondered if his biological dad would be just as good. As it turned out, he was just a teenager who left his mom and hasn't been seen since. It didn't help that Emma had always found a way to not tell him his name, and he was more annoyed that she seemed to be avoiding the subject than anything else.

He didn't know who his birth father was, but whenever he tried to imagine what he looked, sounded, or acted like, his mind would always imagine Killian in his place. He knew that it was impossible for Killian to really be his birth father, but it was a nice thought.

"Hey, look at the case Henry got me." Declan said, and Henry turned his head to find Declan showing off his case to Paige.

"Ooh, pretty." Paige said before addressing Henry. "That was nice of you."

Henry shrugged. "It was nothing." He then told Declan, "I'm just glad you're happy with it."

"I am." Declan replied before he got an idea. "Oh yeah, we should try hanging out after this."

"I can't." Paige said a touch too quickly before she looked between them and said, "Um, because we have school tomorrow."

"Good point." Henry said at the same time Declan asked, "So?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Henry thought he saw Ava and Nick signal something at Paige, but they remained strangely still when Henry looked at them.

Before he could think on it more, he spotted someone familiar approaching them, someone that brought a smile to Henry's face.

"Killian!" Henry called out as he approached the man.

"Henry, hello." Killian smiled back as he brought a hand up to clasp his shoulder.

On impulse, thinking of how Nick greeted his dad, Henry stepped forward to hug Killian. Realizing his potential error, he immediately pulled back and apologized.

"It's alright." Killian said with a soft chuckle. "Are you having a good time? You know, despite all of the lights going out?"

"Yep." Henry said. "How long are you staying for?"

"Until the festival's over." Killian said. "Or until I can't carry Mai anymore when she inevitably falls asleep. Speaking of which, have you seen them?"

"Um…" Henry trailed off as he looked around. "I think they went that way."

"Care to lead me to them?" Killian asked with a quirk in his lips.

"Sure." Henry said before they began walking. Along the way though, something inside Henry felt heavy, and he suddenly felt...sad. "So, um, after this I'll just hang out with my friends."

"You don't want to hang out with me?" Killian asked.

"I do." Henry said hurriedly. "It's just, I thought that you would only want to hang out with Phoebe and Mai and Lady."

"I am perfectly capable of spreading my attention amongst three children and a dog." Killian assured him before gently clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Are you upset about your mum not being able to come."

"Yeah." Henry said, knowing who he was talking about, and feeling a bit better over hearing Emma referred to as his mom. "I know she's busy and stuff."

Killian smiled at him a bit sadly before noticeably perking up. "Well, I'm aware that I'm a poor substitute for your mum, but I'd like to think that we can pass the time well enough."

"Definitely." Henry smiled, making sure to stick close to Killian as they searched for the girls.

* * *

Jefferson suppressed his agony as he watched Grace play with her friends, longing to be with her, but also taking some comfort in knowing that she was having fun.

He wondered how she held up back in the Enchanted Forest after he was trapped in Wonderland. He spent countless days and nights wondering if she was eating right, if she was playing with anyone, if she cried for him-

Jefferson cleared his throat as guilt began to fill his heart, trying to ignore that and the way his skin crawled over having so many people around him in the dark.

He wondered so often if she was happy in the Enchanted Forest after he was gone. Certainly not entirely, as he must've broken her heart after failing to keep his promise, but did she find some solace? Would she find some solace now that she had real friends?

Would she be happy if she found out that her real papa was here, or would she turn away from him in disgust like he'd done to his own father?

"I got the candles." Dada said as she came by, handing him one of his own.

"Thanks." Jefferson said as he took the candle in hand, holding onto it tightly.

"Hey, you okay?" Dada asked concernedly. "You want to get out of here?"

"No, I-I-" Jefferson cleared his throat again. "I'm fine."

Dada sighed. "No, you're not. Come on, let's just get out of here."

"I don't want to ruin your night." Jefferson told her.

"My night will be ruined if you're uncomfortable." Dada told him before grabbing his free hand. "Come on. Let's take a walk."

"Okay." Jefferson said a bit too quickly, eagerly ready to get out of there, though unable to stop himself from taking a few last glimpses of Grace before she disappeared into the ground.

As they made their way away from the crowd, Jefferson sent guilty looks Dada's way without her noticing. He still felt wretched every time he remembered what happened the previous night, about how he'd just screwed her over without realizing it. It was only worsened by the fact that, despite his own hesitancy to even admit it to himself, he began to think more and more that when it came to Dada, or Rapunzel, he was...that he…

Jefferson sighed a little, quietly enough that the sounds of the other people at the festival drowned out the sound. He could only take a small modicum of comfort that both Dada and Rapunzel seemed to care about him, but he didn't know if he deserved it.

"Whew, that's better." Dada commented as they made it to the outer edges of the crowd, her face illuminated by the light of the candle. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Jefferson admitted.

"Okay, what is going on?" Dada asked him.

"What do you mean?" Jefferson asked a touch defensively.

"You've been weird ever since the night I got drunk." Dada said self consciously. "Honestly, you can tell me if I said or did something when you helped me home."

"Hey, hey, listen." Jefferson said gently as he pulled on her hand to bring her closer. "I promise you, you did absolutely nothing wrong."

"Then something else happened." Dada surmised. "You've had this look on your face since I woke up in my apartment, and you were laying on my couch staring up at the ceiling."

 _How could I possibly tell you?_ , Jefferson asked himself despite the urge to tell her the truth, feeling nothing but guilt at not being able to do so.

And yet what he said was, "I was...just worried, you know? It's not your fault, but sometimes I worry a lot."

Unfortunately, Dada didn't look like she believed him, but nodded pensively nonetheless. She let go of his hand as she said, "Well, when you're ready to tell me, let me know."

Dada then walked a little away, and Jefferson walked with her, but he worried that he'd just put more than a little distance between them.

* * *

Killian smiled as the girls ran around in circles, waving their glow sticks as they ran with Lady as well. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, and they had even met up with Henry who immediately decided that he wanted to stay by Killian's side.

"Ooh, look at that." Henry said as he guided Killian to a stall that featured a shooting game.

"Careful." Killian said as he helped Henry adjust the BB gun. "You'll want to be careful with the kickback."

"Thanks." Henry said as his friend Ava stood next to him, holding up her own BB gun. "You ready?"

"To win? Definitely." Ava said confidently.

Killian leaned down to whisper, "Not to worry, lad. I have a feeling we'll get our victory."

"You think so?" Henry whispered back as the guy in charge of the booth readied the game.

"I know so." Killian said.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mr. Tillman whisper something encouraging to Ava, who smiled at him.

The game got started, and Henry and Ava took their shots at the targets.

Killian gave him some advice and Henry concentrated, telling the boy to watch how fast and how much his targets moved, and he smiled every time one of Henry's shots landed. Particularly when there was a little 'Whoop!' there.

In the end, Ava managed to win the game, and won a stuffed animal as her prize, but Henry was too happy to care.

"You did great." Killian told him proudly, and Henry smiled even more.

"You helped." Henry admitted.

"Oh, but you did the work." Killian told him, feeling proud of the boy's humility. "That's what's important."

"Thanks." Henry said as he stuck close to him.

"Listen, if you run out of money, just ask and I'll give you some." Killian told him sincerely.

"Yeah?" Henry asked excitedly.

"Of course." Killian told him. "We need to stick together after all." Killian then looked around, and he caught sight of Phoebe. She had stopped running, and saw how Lady and Mai were running around her, but she remained strangely still. Her face was somewhat drawn, definitely tired, and she didn't seem to respond very much.

 _What happened?_ , Killian thought worriedly as he and Henry walked over to the girls. _She was fine a second ago._

"Having fun?" Killian asked the girls as he hugged Phoebe to his side, feeling the teenager's warmth against his, but not feeling reassured when she didn't respond in kind.

"Yeah." Phoebe said quietly as Mai excitedly began to describe what games she had been playing recently.

Phoebe was somewhat unresponsive, and Killian asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Phoebe said with a little smile.

 _It's not nothing,_ Killian thought, but he didn't want to ask her right now. Besides, with all of these people around, he knew that Phoebe would be less likely to open up. He'd talk to her once they got home.

In the time they'd been together, as well as the time they'd known each other, Killian was amazed at how much Phoebe pushed herself, as well as how often she tried to be helpful. She was a good kid, and whether or not he had a right to feel so, he was proud of her. He was also surprised by how much he wanted to protect her and Mai and Henry from everything bad in the world, to only show them the good things.

Killian hugged her a little tighter as he said, "Come now. We've still got a whole night ahead of us before you go back to the joyous place known as 'school'."

Killian felt a bit of pride when that drew a side-eye from Phoebe.

"Dad, what did we say about your school jokes?" Phoebe asked.

"That they're hilarious." Killian retorted, causing Phoebe to barely stop herself from rolling her eyes. He then realized something and smiled as he said, "You called me 'Dad' again."

A guilty look came over Phoebe's face as she said, "Oh, sorry."

"No, no, don't be sorry." Killian said reassuringly, watching as Henry and Mai played with Lady. He then looked at Phoebe again as he said, "I know this arrangement is still relatively new, but…" he only let go of Phoebe so that he could turn her to face him. "I...would find it a great honor to have you call me your father."

Phoebe's expression was a curious one, as there was a mix of hope and guilt there, and part of Killian chalked it up to her being a young teenager who'd already lost a parent, and who took on the weight of the world on her shoulders.

He tried to throw her a line, a way to pull back, by saying, "But, if it makes you more comfortable not to-"

Killian was cut off when Phoebe stepped forward to hug him, burying her face in his shoulder, and Killian immediately hugged her.

Phoebe was crying a little.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Killian asked her softly.

"Nothing." Phoebe said in a wobbly voice as she tightened her arms around him. "I'm fine."

Killian felt something was off, but he wasn't sure what. All he could do was hold her tighter as he rested his chin on top of her head, and all he could say was, "Whatever it is, I'm right here. Whatever happens, I'll always be here for you."

* * *

Emma looked at Kathryn's case file in front of her. Graham was in his office doing the same thing, but they were working in silence. Emma hated to admit it, but they were starting to hit a roadblock.

Kathryn Antonis was extraordinarily normal, except for the somewhat messy divorce. Her mom died when she was kid, and was raised by a single father. She married David some time ago, but now was going through the divorce. Everyone at her job, her regular hangouts, really anyone they talked to said she was a nice person without enemies.

 _No one has zero enemies,_ Emma thought, but that didn't help identify who it was.

So far the only progress they'd really made was calling the guy at the power company to fix the lighting issue at the festival.

Emma was ready to hit her desk then and there, and the feeling certainly didn't go away when Regina showed up. Glancing at Graham, he felt about the same way. Only this time, Graham's expression seemed a bit more...hostile, especially with that glare of him. Emma just hoped he could keep it together enough to not let Regina know that they were onto her.

"Ms. Swan." Regina greeted, deliberately not using Emma's actual title. She didn't look happy, and not in the usual way where she just looked at people with contempt. Oh no, this Regina's cheeks were reddened with anger as her eyes nearly flared, and when she spoke again it was said with the upmost persistence. "I wanted to know if you made any headway in Kathryn's disappearance."

"Our investigation is still ongoing." Emma told her cooly.

"Ongoing?" Regina asked with a somewhat incredulous tone in her voice. "Kathryn's been missing for nearly 24 hours. That's not good headway."

Emma tilted her head as she realized something, "Wait, how did you know it was Kathryn who is missing?"

Regina pulled back minutely, and waited a couple of seconds before she said, "Sidney came to me earlier with concerns about Kathryn. He said that he recognized her car on the side of the road when he went over to take photos for _The Daily Mirror_."

"Mm." Emma hummed, sensing a lie somewhere in there. "Well, we are still continuing with this investigation, and when we have something concrete, we'll let you know."

Regina looked at her as if she didn't believe her. "Listen, I get that concern for other people isn't your forte, because we know your life experience doesn't lend much to it, but-"

"Deputy Swan." Graham announced firmly, interrupting Regina's tirade. "I'm going to need you to check on the perimeter of the festival, make sure everything's in order."

He hadn't really cared about checking the perimeter before, especially since the festival had their own overseers to make sure things didn't get out of hand before they called the police.

Seeing the out that Graham was giving her, Emma quickly got her coat on.

"We're not done here." Regina said trying to block Emma's path.

"Whatever questions you have, Madam Mayor, you can take them up with me." Graham told Regina.

Regina seemed strangely more amenable to that, despite Graham's clear discomfort over being alone with Regina, which was enough to get Emma to leave with an apologetic look sent his way.

Emma made it outside, but before she got to her car, she spotted people walking towards her.

"Mom!" Henry called out as he ran up to her, trailed by Killian, Phoebe, Mai, and Lady. Killian was carrying Mai in his arms, who looked clearly exhausted, and Phoebe was holding Mai's leash.

"Hey, kid." Emma greeted as she caught Henry in her arms, hugging him as he hugged her. "Have fun with Miner's Day?"

"Yep." Henry said as he pulled back. "It was awesome. I won a ring toss. Then the lights went out and Mary Margaret and Leroy sold all of the candles."

Phoebe coughed not-so-discreetly.

"Oh, Phoebe and Mai helped too." Henry added.

"Again, I'm really feeling that deep down." Phoebe snarked.

Killian walked forward, and he and Emma shared a kiss while being careful not to jostle Mai.

"You guys finished with the festival?" Emma asked them.

"Thereabouts." Killian said. "It is a school night after all. We were walking back when we thought that maybe you'd like to come with us to eat."

"Is anything still open?" Emma asked curiously.

"I actually meant back at my place." Killian said, this time with a pinkish bloom on his cheeks. "I can make something quick before I take Henry back to Regina's."

"I…" Emma trailed off, looking at Henry and Killian's hopeful faces before she said, "Sure, why not?"

Henry smiled as Mai tiredly said, "Yaaaay."

Emma laughed quietly at that as she brushed away Henry's hair. "Come on everyone, let's hop into my car."

"Being escorted by the Deputy?" Phoebe asked as she picked up Lady. "I feel so special."

"Your carriage awaits." Henry said as he opened the back to let Phoebe in. Henry went in next, and soon after that Killian placed Mai next to Henry before taking his own place on the passenger's side.

"After you." Killian said as he opened up the driver's side door.

Emma smirked before she kissed Killian on the lips. "Did Henry behave?" She asked him.

"He was a perfect gentleman. I should know." Killian commented.

"Well, be a gentleman and get inside." Emma said, unintentionally lowering her voice to make it sound a bit rougher than she meant to. Once she saw the way Killian's eyes darkened and intensified their focus on her, she playfully added in that same voice, "I'm starving."

Killian, realizing what she was doing, merely said, "You are going to drive me mad, woman."

"And you'll love every minute of it." Emma said, smirking more when he swallowed a lump in his throat.

Soon they got in the car, and when everyone's seatbelts were secure, she drove them to Killian's place. She looked to the side to see Killian watching her, and when she just the rearview mirror, she saw Henry and Phoebe talking while Mai was all but passed out in her seat.

And yet, in the midst of this domestic scene that put Emma in a relatively unfamiliar sense of peace, something deep down inside her told her that something was about to happen.

* * *

LJ felt his heart pounding the entire time he snuck out of his house, and sneakily made his way to the cemetery. His hand clenched the flashlight in his hand, and he looked around to make sure that no one spotted him.

 _This is insane_ , a voice in LJ's head told him. _What do you think you're going to find?_

 _Something to help Henry and Declan,_ LJ thought. _Something to make Regina back off, since no one else seems to be doing it._

LJ didn't want to dwell on it, but he couldn't help it. Ever since that day when things started falling apart, he had felt a sense of dread. Not just because of what Regina did, but because of how blatantly she did it. How no one seemed ready to stop her.

He'd never had real friends before Henry and Declan. Sure, he had hung out with people, but it never lasted. He hadn't expected to care about those two dummies as much as he did, but he did. So sure, this might be crazy, but he wasn't going to keep sitting on his hands.

 _Something has to be done,_ LJ thought as he arrived at the cemetery, smiling when he saw that Nick, Ava, and Paige were already there on their bikes. _Luckily, I have some help._

"About time you got here." Ava said.

LJ huffed, "You all have bikes. I had to walk."

"Excuses, excuses." Ava said with a comically dismissive wave of her hand.

LJ stuck his tongue out at her like the mature person he was. He then turned to Nick to ask, "Where did you say the mausoleum was?"

"This way." Nick said, nodding his head in one direction before walking away with bike. The others soon followed, until they eventually came upon the mausoleum, where those with bikes left them on the ground.

"Everyone got your flashlights?" LJ asked, turning his on, and they soon presented theirs. "Alright, let's start looking around."

Paige and Nick looked around the sides and the back of the mausoleum exterior while LJ and Ava walked up the steps to look inside. With some reluctance, because this was a freaking mausoleum, LJ pulled back one of the doors, surprised to find that it wasn't locked.

Honestly, it looked like a normal mausoleum, or at least what LJ thought one would look like. Maybe he thought it would look more, well, evil or something. There were almost little shelves built into the stone, but nothing resided in them. In fact, it seemed that the only thing in here that had something inside it was the ornate stone coffin, and LJ was not about to look inside. He was desperate, but not that desperate.

"You see anything?" LJ asked as they entered the mausoleum.

"Just a big coffin." Ava said, searching with her own flashlight. "Are we sure this is a good idea?"

"Nope, but it's the only one we've got." LJ said before looking more at the coffin. That's when he noticed something and said, "Hey, look at the name."

Ava came to look over, and read aloud the inscription on the coffin. "Henry Mills, Beloved Father. I never knew Regina's dad's name was Henry."

"I guess that's where our Henry's name came from." LJ commented.

"I kind of forgot that she is supposed to have parents." Ava replied. "Sometimes I think she just spawned from somewhere."

LJ smirked a little at her jab.

Ava had a contemplative look on her face. "Hey, if her dad's the only one in here, then where's her mom?"

"Maybe she doesn't have one." LJ suggested before amending, "Okay, she has one, but maybe she's alive and just doesn't live here." Kind of like LJ's own mom.

"Maybe." Ava said non-committedly.

"You guys find anything?" Nick asked as he and Paige stepped inside.

"Not yet." LJ replied. "You happen to see what it was Regina was doing in here?"

Nick shook his head. "I thought she was just visiting-"

"What's that?" Paige suddenly asked, shining her flashlight at a bottom corner of the coffin. She then kneeled down and bent her head to peer at something. "What the…"

"What is it?" LJ asked as he kneeled down next to her.

"There's light coming up from under this thing." Paige reported.

"Let me see." LJ told her, and she scooted out of the way to let him view it. She was right. Something was peeking out of the coffin, and now that he inspected it further, he realized that the floor they stood on wasn't complete. There was something underneath the coffin.

"Oh crap, he was right." LJ said in surprise as he stood back up, utterly in disbelief that Henry's theory of a secret lair might actually be right.

"What is it?" Nick asked as he and Ava took a peek.

"There's something under the coffin." Paige observed before hesitantly adding, "I think...I think we can push it." Paige then pressed her hands against the side of the coffin, groaning as she tried to move it.

"Let me help." LJ said as he joined her side to help her.

"This is crazy." Ava said as she and Nick watched them.

"Probably." LJ said as he looked at her and Nick. "Aren't you curious to figure out what it is?"

Nick and Ava hesitated a moment before Nick came to join them, and soon Ava joined him. Together, the four of them struggled and strained to move the coffin, surprised that it was actually beginning to move.

"Oh, I see it." Nick commented as light shone more and more as the coffin was pushed to the side.

"Keep going, we're almost…" LJ trailed off, keeping up the effort until the coffin slid open to the side as much as it could. The four of them then stepped back to observe their work, and saw stairs leading down somewhere.

"There's actually something here." Ava commented quietly.

"What do you think's down there?" Nick asked.

"I don't think it's anything good." Paige answered hesitantly.

A feeling of apprehension swelled inside LJ. Something inside him was screaming 'Turn around! Run!' Deep down he knew Paige was right - something bad was down there, and it might be smart to just leave and pretend this never happened.

Even so, he'd come too far now to turn away from a discover like. Stamping down the uneasy feeling he had, LJ kept a firm hold of his flashlight. "Anyone wants to turn back, do it now." He said before he walked down the stairs, hearing the other's briefly protest before he heard their footsteps quickly follow behind him.

Walking slowly to make sure that he didn't end up tripping over the steps, the four of them eventually made their way down not into some narrow crevice he might have worried about, but instead a large space with curtains that decorated different passageways to different rooms in lieu of doors.

Nick gave a low whistle as their flashlights lit up the space around them, though it was already somewhat illuminated by the moonlight that streamed through some sort of vent above them. LJ wasn't sure how it worked, but he was too focused on the fact that they were all standing in some underground lair where they should have only been hard earth.

"Spread out." LJ told them as he started walking, already heading towards a peculiar wall directly ahead, peeking at it through the black curtains. "Let's see what's down here."

The others did so, and LJ went up to his wall. On the sides were regular brick walls, but between them were these sort of strange looking square tiles that jutted out like square pyramids. In the center of each tile was a single golden circle with the letters on them.

"XC G LIV." LJ quietly read them aloud as numbers. "XC FLV...wait, are these Roman numerals?"

"You find anything?" Nick asked as he walked to stand next to LJ. "Hey, that's like that other wall over there."

"Over where?" LJ asked, and Nick led him to another part of the underground space where Paige and Ava resided, and there he founds more and more walls of these same tiles, each with different letters on them. "Guess Regina liked these tiles a lot."

"I don't think they're tiles." Ava observed, grabbing the edges of one and twisting it a bit. To LJ's surprise, it moved a little, and it almost sounded like wood hitting stone. "Either someone did a crappy job, or this is something else. A shelf maybe?"

"What's in it?" Paige asked as she, LJ, and Nick converged to where Ava was.

"Let's find out." Nick said determinedly, and Ava nodded. She passed him her flashlight before she grasped the not-tile with both hands, and jiggled it a little. "It's not coming out." Ava said as it refused to budge, but she said, "Wait."

The three of them watched as Ava pushed it in, and to their surprise, it gave no further resistance as Ava pulled it out.

She was right, it was a shelf, or rather a compartment, as inside it was a little decorative box, which Ava picked up and presented to them.

"What do you think's inside it?" Ava asked a bit nervously as she handed it to LJ, then receiving her flashlight back from Nick.

"I don't know." LJ said, his heart beginning to hammer unnaturally as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "Time to find out."

LJ then placed his fingers over the top of the box, noticing how they were starting to shake a little, how his body had broken out in a cold sweat, and lifted the top open.

"Holy shit!" LJ shouted in horrified surprise as the others jumped back from the site of what was inside the box. "That's...that's a-"

"A heart." Ava breathed out with frightened eyes. "Guys...guys that's a _heart_."

"Why is it glowing?" Nick asked, unable to take his eyes away from it.

"Oh my god, is it beating?" Paige questioned as she took a step back.

 _Why does she have a heart in here?_ , LJ wondered, though he was too in shock to be able to voice this. Looking at the heart, LJ heard the little _thump-thump-thump_ of each unnatural heartbeat, watching the way it glowed an unnatural mixture of red and pink, saw the _veins_ in the still beating heart.

"He…" LJ breathed out, his legs feeling numb as so many things raced through his mind. Regina had a heart in this box, and if the rest of the compartments were like this one, then there were more and more hearts- oh god there were so many.

Wait. Oh no. No, no, no. Henry….Henry was right. He was absolutely right. What was it he said about the Evil Queen, the woman he claimed Regina was? That she ripped out heart and stored them in her vault.

LJ looked around as his breathing became rapid, barely noticing how the others were still frantically asking questions. There were so many...they were standing in the middle of all of these hearts. This was...this was _proof_. Oh god, this was proof that Henry was-

There was a crash from somewhere. Perhaps not above, but perhaps not somewhere near, but it was enough that it frightened all of the children so badly that they gave a shout and immediately ran for the exit. In this hurry, LJ dropped the box with a heart without a thought, and they all ran out of there, the compartment still open, and the box with the heart wide open.

They all ran out, not even bothering to cover up the coffin again, and Nick and Paige immediately got on their bikes, with Ava allowing LJ to get on hers. They all peddled off, desperate to put as much distance between them and that damn mausoleum with its glowing heart as quickly as they could.

"H-He was right." LJ stuttered, though Ava was too focused on peddling to listen to him. LJ's mind was overwhelmed by how this entire time, he thought Henry's' stories were just a product of that book and his mind. Like an idiot, he'd felt sorry for Henry because he was a nice kid with mental problems. Now he realized that he felt sorry for Henry because he knew the _truth_.

He knew exactly what his mother was capable of. He'd been trying to warn everyone, but none of them had listened.

 _Everything is true though_ , LJ thought as he held onto Ava tighter. _Everything. The curse, the hearts, his mother's evil,_ _ **everything**_ _._

 _Henry was right,_ he kept thinking as his world, or how he had looked at it, began to crumble underneath. _Henry was right. Henry was_ _ **right**_ _._

* * *

Cora hid behind a tree, watching as a bunch of foolish children raced out of Regina's mausoleum with horrified looks on their faces. They ran away from the cemetery, nearly shouting at each other to keep going, and Cora smiled intrigued.

She'd long held the suspicion that something was in that mausoleum. Of course, to any outsider it would appear that the children were scared by a body, but given that they voluntarily went into that mausoleum with determined looks on their faces, Cora knew it had to be something more.

Waiting to see if anyone else was around, Cora quickly made her way into the mausoleum, and noted how the tomb had been moved open, revealing a staircase to a secret room below. Cora cautiously made her way down.

She only got halfway down the stairs when she stopped, looked around, and smiled once more.

 _At last_ , she thought as she looked around at the lair Regina had brought over, at the open shelf with a heart in it. _Access to magic, proof of the truth._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Kathryn is missing, Mary Margaret is starting to recover a little, Jefferson feels guilty, and we learned who Mai was and who she had a connection to.
> 
> Also those kids are probably traumatized lol. Let's see how they react in the next chapter ;) 
> 
> Let me know what you think down below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	25. What Do We Do Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, characters make new discoveries, feelings are hurt, and a general sense of wariness begins to set in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! So this chapter didn't take me as long as other chapters did, but it hit me right at the junction of nearing writer's block and general eh-ness. However, this was one of those lucky chapters where I figured out the chapter title before I finished writing, so that's a plus.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything canon belongs to A&E, ABC, and Disney.
> 
> Special thanks as always to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter  
> Also congrats to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms (and me) for getting nominated for OUAT's Fandom Choice Awards on Tumblr!
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 24, 2012_

Emma let out a surprisingly harsh cough as she entered the station with her and Graham's coffee.

"I certainly hope you didn't cough on that." Graham said as he accepted the coffee.

In retaliation for his lame attempt at a joke, Emma sent a comically fake cough his direction, smiling when he instinctively shielded it from her. Emma tried to say something, but a sneeze soon came out.

"You feeling alright?" Graham asked concernedly.

Emma waved a hand as she took a sip of her coffee. "I'm fine." She told him. "It's just allergies."

"In the winter?" Graham questioned.

"The point is I'm not sick." Emma said decisively. "Now, did anything hap-"

The phone soon rang, and Emma knew she had just jinxed herself. She went over to pick up the phone, answering "Storybrooke Police Department."

"Please, I need help." A woman's frightened voice said. "A man just took off with my purse."

Quickly mouthing "Robbery" to Graham, Emma asked the woman, "Where are you?"

"The cemetery." She said fearfully. "I was visiting my husband when he came. I tried to follow him, but he's still hiding in this...this mausoleum. I think it's the Mi-"

Emma paused as silence followed, and soon she realized that the phone call cut off. She tried to redial, but for reason that failed. Hanging up the phone, she told Graham, "Robbery at the cemetery. Suspect's apparently hiding out in a mausoleum."

"Did the victim say more?" Graham asked as they made their way to their cars.

"No, the phone call cut off." Emma said as she was about to get into her Bug. "Meet you there."

Soon they were off, driving to the cemetery with sirens turned on. It didn't take long before they parked next to the cemetery, hands on their weapons just in case the suspect was armed.

"You see anyone?" Emma asked as they searched the area.

"No." Graham said. "The victim said it was a mausoleum?"

"Yeah." Emma told him.

"There's only one mausoleum in the entire cemetery." Graham told her as he began to lead her to another direction. "It belongs to the Mills family."

"How do you know that?" Emma asked as they hurried along, keeping an eye out just in case.

"Regina wouldn't…" he trailed off with an uncomfortable, almost pained look on his face. He cleared his throat before adding, "Regina wouldn't have me on Wednesdays. That's when she visited the mausoleum."

"Good thing it's Friday." Emma said as they walked further and further away from the singular graves, and soon found themselves a little ways away from anything else when they came upon the mausoleum.

"Be careful." Graham said as they drew their weapons. "We don't know what this guy has on him."

Emma merely nodded seriously as they approached.

"Storybrooke Police!" Graham called out. "If you're in there, put your hands on your head and exit slowly!"

There was no response, and Emma wondered if maybe the guy didn't just book it, but they had to make sure.

Graham nodded at Emma before advancing towards the mausoleum, Emma behind him as they slowly approached the mausoleum. One of the doors to the mausoleum was still open, and when Graham quickly opened the second door, what they first saw was a coffin. Upon closer inspection…

"What the hell?" Emma asked as she and Graham both saw how the stone coffin was closer to one wall of the mausoleum, but only because it apparently was meant to cover up a staircase leading down somewhere. "Since when do mausoleums have hidden stairwells."

"This would be a first for me." Graham breathed out. "Think our robber is down there?"

"Only one way to find out." Emma said before she and Graham carefully began walking down the stairs.

Below, they found this sort of space under the mausoleum, like it's own separate space illuminated by sunlight that was filtered in by vents. It had clearly been renovated, as evidenced by the brick walls, the carefully sculpted arches, the damn _curtains_. The only thing that wasn't here was this damn suspect.

"Did you know about this?" Emma asked as she and Graham looked around.

"I had no idea." Graham responded, sounding as confused as she felt.

Emma's eyes strayed to one of the walls, which was decorated more ornately than the other. Something about it seemed strange. There seemed to be Roman numerals etched into this squares that jutted out, but something about them seemed off to her. Something-

"Emma!" Graham called out, his voice teeming with surprise and disgust. "Emma, get in here!"

"What is it?" Emma called out as she ran into the room he was in, fearing that he had been confronted by the suspect. Instead, she founds him standing in shock over a box on the floor, peering at its contents with horror.

Walking forward, Emma went to see what he was looking at. "What is- What the hell?!"

Emma's jaw dropped and her eyes peered intensely on the _fucking heart_ that lay inside the box. What's more, not only was a damn heart inside that box, but it was _beating_ and _glowing_.

"H-How…" Emma trailed off as Graham holstered his weapon, and hesitantly touched the heart before pulling his hand back like it had burned him.

"Fuck." Graham swore in surprise. "It feels...it feels like fucking flesh."

"No." Emma immediately denied. "No, no, this has to be a trick." She then holstered her own weapon and knelt down to pick it up. She barely got her fingers around it before it beated in her hand - _thump-thump thump-thump_ \- and she too pulled her hand away. Her own heart had started hammering in her chest, and it felt like legs were being pricked by needles as she couldn't help but stare at the heart. It would've been bad enough if it was a heart in a box, evidence that the owner was long gone, but this thing felt... _alive._

"There's…there's got to be a light inside it or something." Emma denied further. "Maybe it's made of some sort of synthetic whatever, I don't know."

 _The Evil Queen ripped out people's heart,_ Henry's voice said, entering her thoughts intrusively. _And she locked them away in a vault. I don't know if it's here though._

 _It's just a story,_ Emma told herself as her mind irrationally began to panic.

"What the hell could mimic a heart like that?" Graham snapped at her incredulously.

"I don't know." Emma snapped back, both frustrated by Graham's tone but also feeling a welling sense of dread inside her. She took a calming breath, which didn't calm her all that much. "I don't know...but we are going to find out."

* * *

"Um, not to be rude, but LJ doesn't look so good." Declan whispered to Henry as they sat next to each other at lunch time.

"None of them do." Henry whispered back as he observed his other four friends. None of them looked like they had gotten any sleep last night. Nick was chewing his food too slowly, LJ wasn't even eating it, and Ava looked like she was about to throw up with every bite. In class, Paige had been high-strung, even snapping at one of her old friends for touching her hair.

"Uh, guys?" Henry called out in an even voice, which still somehow managed to startle all four of them. Sharing a confused and concerned look with Declan, Henry asked, "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Paige said unconvincingly. "Just, uh, yeah we're uh-"

"Henry, we need to talk." LJ blurted out, which caused the other three to immediately look at him in surprise and incredulity, with Nick even whispering, "What are you doing?"

"Okay, sure, about what?" Henry asked as he saw LJ get up, walk around the table, and tug on his and Declan's arms.

"You too, Declan." LJ said as he practically pulled them out of their seats. "Come on."

Neither Henry or Declan knew what was going on, but the almost frightened look on LJ's face was enough to get them moving. One of the teachers tried to stop them from leaving, but after LJ promised that they were only going to the bathroom, they were allowed to leave. Given that LJ still had a somewhat solid reputation as someone who wouldn't pull that mind of stunt, despite them doing this very thing, it didn't surprise Henry.

However, they were barely inside the boy's bathroom before LJ searched each and every stall. Once he was sure it was empty, he grabbed a nearby sign that said 'closed for cleaning' that the janitor must have left behind. He then put it outside and all but barred the door.

Declan began to ask, "LJ, what-"

"You were right." LJ blurted out, and before anyone else could speak, he looked directly at Henry and said, "You were right about everything. The curse, the hearts, your mom, _everything._ "

"Wait, what?" Declan asked before the words registered in Henry's head.

Henry couldn't help but smile, something heavy in his mind disappearing as he realized something amazing just happened. "You...you really believe me?"

"Yes." LJ said with a frightened look, which dampened Henry's suddenly uplifted.

"LJ." Declan told him warningly, likely worried that LJ was getting Henry's hopes up.

"No, Declan." LJ told him firmly, even as it looked like he was seconds from hyperventilating. "I found proof. I know it's real. Oh my god, it's all real. That heart…"

"What about a heart?" Declan asked frustratedly. "What are you talking about?"

"There was a heart in a mausoleum." LJ explained. "E-Except it wasn't the whole mausoleum, it was this underground place. We were looking around-"

"We?" Henry asked.

"Me, Ava, Nick, and Paige." LJ said shakily. "W-We thought something might be in this mausoleum in the cemetery, s-so we looked a-and there was this heart and it _glowing_. It was actually _glowing_ , a-and I saw the veins in it and it was beating and-"

"Whoa, whoa, easy." Declan said as LJ looked more and more unraveled. "Take a breath, man."

"I-I can't." LJ shook his head. "I couldn't sleep last night. All this time…" LJ looked at Henry guiltily. "I'm so sorry. This whole time I thought you were just sick, t-that this wasn't….I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't." Henry said, not even feeling hurt that LJ really hadn't believed him, because his friend just looked too scared. "It was the curse. The whole point was to make sure you didn't remember."

"Okay, back up." Declan said disbelievingly. "You actually believe it."

"Dude, _I saw it_." LJ told him insistently. "We all did. It's real. Everything Henry said has been real the whole time."

Henry felt...heavily conflicted. On the one hand, yes! He finally had someone who was outright saying that he was right, that he wasn't crazy. And it was one of his best friends too, who said that three other friends would back him up. On the other hand...LJ looked almost terrified, and judging by the other's reactions, Henry knew that the knowledge of the truth might have been too much for them. Not to mention the fact that his mom's vault was definitely in Storybrooke, and now he had to worry about who she had under her control that didn't even know it.

He had always wanted this, so why wasn't he happier about it?

"It's gonna be okay." Henry told LJ. "My real mom's here, and you know who she is, right?"

"The Savior." LJ said quietly.

"Right." Henry said encouragingly. "And she's going to break the curse and save everyone."

"What the hell are you guys-" Declan cut himself off, clearly still in disbelief. "You actually...this is insane."

Just then, people began pushing the door open, but as LJ was trying to stop them, Nick's voice said, "Let us in."

LJ opened the door, and closed it as soon as Ava, Nick, and Paige entered the bathroom.

"How did you know we were in here?" Declan asked, not even bothering to make some joke about how girls weren't allowed in the boy's bathroom.

"The sign outside said someone was cleaning, but the janitor was already walking away from this place." Paige pointed out.

"You guys know the truth?" Henry asked.

"Well, yeah?" Nick said in a questioning voice. "There was a heart in there, and when LJ brought you here, we thought that maybe he was telling you the truth. So we were talking, a-and-"

"Okay, stop." Declan interrupted, looking as if his head was going to explode. "What is actually going on? You can't all seriously believe this."

"You want us to take you to the cemetery and show you?" Ava challenged.

"Oh fuck no, I am not going back there." LJ swore, and neither Henry or Declan could stop themselves from gaping at LJ's language.

 _This...is not good_ , Henry thought as LJ didn't even bother to apologize for swearing.

Declan, surprisingly, chose to remain silent.

"We've got to prove it somehow." Paige added tersely. "I can barely believe it, and I saw the thing!"

"Guys, we've got to keep it down." Nick warned. "Someone's going to hear us."

"Just-" LJ started before stopping himself, taking a moment to pause. He waited a couple of moments to collect himself before suggesting, "How about...we meet up at HQ, after everyone goes to sleep? Explain what we saw. Then...we figure something else out, agreed?"

"Agreed," Ava said at the same time Nick and Paige added their own "Yeah" and "Sure".

"Not agreed." Declan said. "What's HQ?"

"Your old shack." LJ said to the surprise of Henry and Declan. "We've been meeting up there for awhile."

"What have you-" Declan started, but LJ wouldn't let him finish.

"Look, just let us explain there, and then if you want, just ignore us." LJ said seriously. "If you don't believe us, then fine. I don't care anymore. I can't unsee what I saw there."

There were several moments of silence as Henry pondered both LJ's words and the expression of Declan's face. The way LJ seemed ready to scream, the way the others were nearly shaking, from how Declan's disbelief was slowly being overcome by curiosity. Like Henry, he probably knew that whatever else they said, their friends believed it wholeheartedly, and something had definitely rattled them.

It was at that point that Declan said, "Okay fine. I'll find some way to sneak out of the sheriff's house."

LJ nodded before he looked at Henry.

Henry wasted no time in eagerly answering, "Of course. I can't wait."

Given how the others looked, he was the only one eager for this meeting.

* * *

_My apologies, Mr. Leander, but there simply isn't enough evidence to go on._

_Not enough evidence?_ , Freddie thought incredulously as he replayed the judge's words in his head. _The sheriff and deputy found Gold beating me. How is there not enough evidence? What, was I not bleeding enough? Did he not crack my ribs as much as he should've?_

"Oh my god." Mary Margaret said in a horrified voice as she served Freddie tea, not even minding that Missy was on the counter too.

"This is horseshit." David swore angrily as he sat next to Freddie at the kitchen counter in Mary Margaret's loft.

"David." Mary Margaret said in both a soothing and warning voice.

"I'm sorry, but no." David said, likely apologetic only for the swearing. "Gold _attacked_ you. He was caught in the act. How-"

"The judge made it clear that going ahead to trial would be a waste of time." Freddie cut him off. "At least that's the impression I got." He then added with a sigh, "And because the charges have been dropped, Gold's no longer out on bail, because that was dropped to."

"So that means he can contact you?" Mary Margaret asked incredulously.

"Not if I talk some sense into him." David said about to get up.

"David, stop." Freddie said a little tersely. "I get that your mad, but the last thing I want is for one of my friends to go to jail because of me."

"I'm not just mad." David said before admitting with vulnerability in his voice, "I'm worried too. This...this isn't right."

"Don't you think I know that?" Freddie asked. "I was the one who was attacked. I was the one who thought I was never getting out of that cabin. I-" Freddie cut himself, placing his hand over his eyes as he tried to control his own emotions. His heart welled with rage, fear, disappointment, and above all an emptiness at realizing that there was nothing he could do.

"It's going to be okay." Mary Margaret told him as she walked around the counter to rub his back soothingly. "You have us."

"I don't even…" Freddie trailed off as his voice became somewhat uneven, as he just didn't know what he was going to do now that Gold was free to do whatever he wanted.

"You want a hug?" Mary Margaret asked, and Freddie was vaguely aware that he said something similar to her when she was feeling down about her suspension.

So it was with no reluctance that Freddie nodded, and Mary Margaret wrapped him up in a hug.

"It's okay." Mary Margaret tried to tell him. "We won't let Gold hurt you."

 _He's already hurt me once_ , Freddie thought numbly, feeling Missy paw at his arm.

There was a ringing sound, and when he pulled back he saw David walk away to take a call.

"Hi Ray." David answered, and there were a series of pauses intermingled with David responding to whatever Ray was sending, occasionally sending glances Freddie's way. "Okay, we'll be there soon." David finished off before he ended the call. He then said, "Sorry Mary Margaret, but Freddie and I have to go."

"Why?" She asked him.

"That was Ray." David explained before looking at Freddie. "He wants us to help him on a project."

 _A project huh?,_ Freddie thought, realizing that it was code for them to gather.

"Oh, need any help?" Mary Margaret asked as they got ready.

"We'll be fine." David said before pausing, then walking up to her and kissing her on the cheek. "We'll meet up soon, okay?"

"Okay." Mary Margaret said with a sweet little smile that matched David's. "Have a good time."

"You too." Freddie said as he began to leave, Missy on his shoulder.

"Freddie." Mary Margaret called out before approaching him to give him another hug. "I mean it. It's going to be okay."

Freddie didn't really know what to say, so he simply hugged her back. Once they released each other, he gave her a silent nod before leaving the loft with David.

"So, we're meeting at his office?" Freddie asked David as they walked to his truck.

"The sheriff's station, actually." David said to Freddie mild surprise. "Apparently, Emma's in on this, and he's catching Graham up to speed. Plus, I think Emma's the one who called this meeting."

"You think something happened?" Freddie asked as they got in David's truck, putting on his seatbelt before resting Missy on his lap.

"Don't know." David said as he got in the truck and started the engine. "Whatever it is, I've got the feeling it's important."

David then drove them to the sheriff's station, leaving Freddie to wonder what prompted the occasion.

* * *

 _This can't be real,_ Emma thought as she stood in Graham's office, the two of them staring silently at the closed box on his desk, knowing that inside lay something that was supposed to be a heart.

Luckily there had been no other calls today, not even one about Leroy having a drunk and disorderly. She couldn't be sure, but Mary Margaret had mentioned him having something with a nun, and Emma didn't want to pry. It was a good thing too, since Emma wasn't sure she or Graham would've been able to keep it together in front of anyone else.

They were barely keeping it together in front of each other.

"When's Ray getting here?" Graham asked quietly as he stared at the box.

Emma checked the clock before saying, "Any minute now."

Graham sighed. "How the hell are we going to explain this?"

"Well the beating heart in the box should say enough." Emma tried to snark, though she was unable to stop herself from sounding like she was losing her breath, unintentionally allowing her voice to hit a higher pitch.

Finally Graham looked at her, "Emma-"

The two of them nearly jumped in their places as the door to the bullpen opened.

"Emma, you here?" Killian's voice asked.

"What the hell?" Graham swore softly in confusion, in contrast to Emma's sense of relief knowing Killian was there.

The two of them left his office, and found that not only were Killian and Ray there, but also Freddie and David as well.

Killian stood closely to Emma, which allowed her to only have to take a step forward to hug him, wanting to hold onto some proof that the world wasn't going sideways.

"I invited them." Ray said, answering their unasked question. "I thought they could help with whatever was worrying you two so much. I hope you don't mind."

"No, that's...that's good I suppose." Graham said slowly. "Yeah, it's better that we have more than one person we trust confirm we're not losing our minds."

"What is it?" David asked him.

"Just...come into my office if you can fit in." Graham told them before entering his office, and shutting the blinds.

"Swan, what is it?" Killian asked softly as they let go of each other.

"It's better if you see it for yourself." Emma said as she grabbed his hand and let him into the office. It was a bit of a tight fit, especially when Emma shut the door behind them, but she didn't want to take the chance that someone would walk in without them noticing. Pulling down the door's window blind, Emma turned to find curious eyes staring at her.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Earlier today, we got a call about a robbery at the cemetery. We were told that the suspect was hiding in this...mausoleum." She hesitated on the world as her mind immediately flashed to the moment she saw the heart. Steadying herself, she continued as she pointed at the box, "Graham and I went inside, and we found this."

Even pointing at it made her feel unclean, like there were dull needles pricking her from beneath her skin.

"So, what's the problem?" Freddie asked with a frown.

That's when Graham said, "Because of what we found inside the box." He then turned the box around, so that the latch was facing them, and opened it.

Everyone's reactions were a mixture of revulsion and fascination, with some key differences. David didn't seem to understand what he was looking at. Freddie apparently saw something that disgusted him, as he immediately took a step back. Ray just barely seemed to register it all, and even seemed curious as to what it was despite the clear shock on his face.

And Killian...his was the most curious of all. He looked at the heart as if he was staring into some kind of void, some incomprehensible thing, wordlessly watching as the heart beat slowly in the box. He even took a minute step forward. The way his eyes looked were contradictory, a mixture of feeling lost and yet nearly hyper focused on it.

"Killian, you okay?" Emma whispered at the same time the other three men began fervently questioning what they were looking at. Why did the heart elicit that particular reaction from him when so far it hadn't done the same to anyone else?

Her words seemed to break the spell that had been over Killian, at least a little bit, and as the others asked more and more questions, he simply said, "Yes, I'm fine."

"Is this...this can't be-" David had started staying, but when he reached in to touch him, the words died on his lips as he gently grasped the beating heart in his hand, though he seemed too stunned to pull it out. Instead, he paused a few moments before retracting his hand, taking a step back.

Soon, Freddie and Ray did the same, and they too had similar reactions.

"It's a fucking heart." Ray breathed out, causing the others to snap their heads in his direction at his rather unexpected swearing.

"Is that real?" Freddie asked, but before anyone could respond, he then asked, "Wait, you said this was in a mausoleum. Who's mausoleum did you find this in?"

"Regina's." Graham answered simply.

"Why do-" David started but cut himself off, instead breathing out, "This is insane."

"What are we going to do?" Freddie asked, his eyes going between the heart still beating in the box, as if he was waiting for it to stop, and the others in the room, likely wondering if he was really seeing this.

"Maybe...maybe figure out how it's doing that?" Ray suggested, though he didn't seem sure of himself, because, again, a heart was _glowing and beating outside of someone's body._

Emma paused a moment before asking Graham, "Maybe we should take it to a doctor? They'd probably know more about how a heart is supposed to work than we do."

Graham hesitated. "I don't know. I don't want to risk this getting out, especially since this came out of Regina's vault. Who knows how she'll retaliate if she finds out."

"Point taken." Killian commented. "Is there anyone you trust enough to keep their mouth shut?"

Graham paused before a few moments before saying, "Maybe...there's a mortician that works in the hospital. Nice lad, and as far as I know, he's got no ties to Regina."

"What's his name?" Emma asked.

"Bill Paget." Graham told her.

"And you're sure we can trust him?" Emma asked firmly.

"I think so." Graham replied carefully. "At the very least, he's the most trustworthy person with a medical degree I can think of. Besides...how much of a choice do we have?"

Emma hated to admit it, but he was right. They were already in unfamiliar territory as it was, and despite how much it grated against her nerves, she knew they really didn't have much of a choice.

"What do we do now?" Ray asked. "Go home and pretend like this never happened?"

"It's a little late for that." Freddie commented.

"We are going to pretend." Graham said to the surprise of everyone. "Just not to each other. We can't afford to forget this, not when it proves that Regina is more dangerous than we thought. Emma, you remember those walls in the mausoleum's underground space. How much you want to bet that there are more where that came from?"

The thought made Emma feel very uneasy, especially since Henry's voice kept appearing in her mind, talking over and over about the Evil Queen. Emma didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true, and yet...

Graham then addressed the group. "We keep this between us, and we keep a closer eye on Regina. From now one, no one is left alone with that woman, agreed?"

There were a chorus of agreements.

Graham nodded. "Good. Now, I'm going to take this heart to Bill, and let's see if we can figure out just what in the hell we've gotten ourselves into."

* * *

It was a slow night, and normally on slow nights Ruby would try to find an excuse to leave early. Usually it would end with Granny scolding her and making her stay longer, but hey it was the effort that counted. This night, however, she just didn't feel like leaving, and deep down she thought that maybe, a little bitty _maybe_ , it had to do with the idea that Ray could come in through those doors and order some food.

 _Oh my god,_ Ruby thought to herself incredulously, _get ahold of yourself. You aren't even exclusive._

It was true. After all, they had only been on a few dates, and yeah it was fun but it wasn't like they talked about being exclusive. Okay, maybe hinted at it but…

Ruby quietly scoffed to herself as she wiped down a table. Sure he was nice and good-looking and actually a really good person to hang out with, but Ruby didn't know if she was ready for a commitment. If she were though…

The bell at the front door of the diner rang, and instinctively Ruby turned to see who it was. She then was disappointed when she realized it wasn't Ray.

Instead it was August, who was handsome in his own right, but it just wasn't the same.

August sat at the counter, so Ruby came over to greet him.

"Evening, stranger." Ruby said with a smile, playing on the old joke that he was the only person besides Emma who wasn't from Storybrooke.

August good naturedly smiled back and said, "Evening Ruby. I'll just have a coffee and a sandwich."

"Any in particular?" Ruby asked as she started writing it down.

"Surprise me." August said.

"So, a coffee huh?" Ruby said as she gave the order to Alan before starting up the pot of coffee. "Planning on pulling a late nighter?"

"Oh yeah." August replied. "I've got a little project going on, and I want to get it ready by tomorrow."

"Ooh, what's the project?" Ruby asked intrigued.

August touched his nose almost thoughtlessly as he said, "It's a surprise. Plus, I don't want the recipient to know it was me."

"Are you trying to be a secret admirer?" Ruby asked teasingly with a tilt of her head.

"Not exactly." August replied. "But enough about me. How's your day been going?"

Ruby sighed. "Boring, as usual. The days drag on and barely anything exciting happens. Well, there was the mine collapsing a while back, and a guy coming out of a coma, but nothing exciting that wasn't life threatening, you know?"

"Not really." August admitted. "Before I came here, I generally tried to shake things up, or challenge myself. Once, I was on a tiny budget, and I spent a year living in places that didn't have roofs."

"Really?" Ruby asked intrigued as she began to pour the coffee. "A whole year without a roof over your head?"

"I got used to it." August said with a shrug. "Plus I had the motorcycle so, if I didn't like a place after a while-"

"Ruby!" Granny called out, and Ruby suppressed a sigh as she remembered that her grandmother was at the end of the counter going over the books.

Ignoring her, she told August, "I've never even been out of Storybrooke. What was your favorite place?"

"Nepal." August said smoothly. "Best people. They have these prayer temples carved into mountains that are overrun with lemurs."

"What's a lemur?" Ruby asked, her curiosity spiking.

"Ruby!" Granny called again in a firmer tone.

"Just give me a sec!" Ruby called back before turning her attention back to August.

"They're little animals." August explained. "And they have these eyes that reflect light. So, at night it looks like they glow."

Ruby smiled as he described it almost wistfully, trying to imagine little creatures whose eyes reflect in the dark mysteriously. If she ever got the chance, she would go to Nepal. Maybe she could take-

"Ruby!" Granny nearly shouted, and from her tone, Ruby knew she was in for a lecture. "Stop flirting and get over here." She then knocked on the counter twice just to make her point clear.

Ruby tried to smile at August reassuringly, but she knew it looked stiff. She couldn't believe Granny would talk to her like a child. She walked towards Granny, and once she turned her back to August her smile disappeared. "I can't believe you did that." Ruby told Granny incredulously. "That was humiliating."

"I want you to start working Saturday nights." Granny said without preamble.

"Come on." Ruby nearly groaned. "We have an agreement about Saturday nights."

"I want to start training you to do the books and the reorders." Granny told her. "Business is booming lately, and with more money comes more paperwork."

"Yeah, none of that sounds good." Ruby retorted.

"It's got to be done." Granny told her tersely. "Besides, it's not like it would be the first time you switched your nights for something else."

"That was one time, and you know it." Ruby told her.

"Well this is for business, not a date with a lawyer." Granny replied.

Ruby paused before asking, "Is this a punishment for going out with Ray? What is your problem with him?"

"I don't have a problem with him." Granny denied.

"Oh come on." Ruby scoffed. "I remember you glaring at him the whole time he was here on Valentine's Day."

Granny didn't bother to deny it that time, so instead she said, "If I wanted to punish you, I'd have better reasons. For one thing, you were late today. For another thing, _Liza,_ you dress like a drag queen during Fleet Week."

Ruby raised an eyebrow before challenging, "Well you look like Norman Bates when he dresses up like Norman Bates' mother."

Granny frustratedly replied, "Ruby, you are a grown woman. You can't keep acting like some kid."

Hurt and feeling indignated at Granny's presumption, Ruby said, "You just want me to act like _you_ until I turn into you. Well I am not a fossil yet, Granny. I should be out there having adventures with lemurs."

Looking ready to really lose her temper, Granny shut the books with more force than necessary. "Well, as long as you work here, you are gonna listen to me."

"I didn't ask to work here." Ruby fired back impulsively.

"Well then, what's keeping ya?" Granny challenged without looking at her as she walked away.

"Nothing." Ruby said before finally adding, "I quit!"

She caught the barest glimpse of Granny's shocked face before Ruby left the diner, practically ripping off her apron.

 _I am not some kid,_ Ruby thought as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. _She always treats me like a kid, but then when I try to have fun she doesn't let me do anything._

Angrily, Ruby headed to her room at the inn, and after some searching immediately began to pack up. Maybe this was the incentive she needed to finally go out on her own. That way she wouldn't have Granny harping on her on what she could or couldn't do all the time.

 _She wants me to act like a grown woman?,_ Ruby thought challengingly as she finished packing, heading out the door, _Fine. I'll show her._

Ruby felt mostly relieved that Granny hadn't been there to talk her out of it, but at the same time a small part of her felt...disappointed. Ruby shook the thought from her mind as she continued walking down the streets of Storybrooke to the bus stop.

Ruby suddenly stopped. Where would she go? Nepal was far away, and she wasn't familiar with anywhere else yet. She wouldn't just leave Storybrooke behind, but everyone she knew. Ruby sighed, hating how she was so eager to leave but too uncertain of the future. Ruby started walking again in a different direction to clear her head.

Maybe...maybe she could stay with someone? Just for the night so she could get a handle on things. Ashley and Sean had a baby so that was a no-go. Mary Margaret was still reeling from her suspension, and she didn't know if Emma could handle another roommate, so that wasn't possible either.

Um...maybe Dada. Yeah, maybe she could just let her stay for the night. If not….well, Ruby would have to make do.

Ruby headed to Dada's apartment building, and groaned when she realized that the elevator was broken, only then remembering all of Dada's complaints about it. Ruby took a minute to prepare herself before she can dragging her suitcase up the steps.

She only got a few floors up before she had to take a breath, shaking her head as she wondered if this was a good idea.

"Ruby?" Ray's voice asked.

Her head snapped down the hall, where she found Ray with his keys in hand, ready to enter an apartment she figured was his.

"Oh, uh, hi Ray." Ruby said awkwardly.

"Hi yourself." Ray said curiously as he walked towards her. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh…" Ruby trailed off before she cleared her throat. "I moved out of Granny's. I was kinda hoping that Dada would let me stay in her apartment for the night...even though I didn't call ahead."

"Ah." Ray said understandingly. "You want me to help you up? Her apartment's on the top floor. Plus, there's this thing where the floor kind of slants, and hers is on top of the slant, so it might even be the highest room."

"Great." Ruby groaned before catching a look on Ray's face once he had finished talking. He looked more stressed out that usual. Even his breathing seemed a little harder, and for some reason Ruby didn't think it had to do with walking up the stairs. "You okay?"

"What?" Ray asked in a surprised tone, like he had forgotten where they were. "Oh yeah, just...it's been a long night."

"Same." Ruby said tiredly.

Ray paused for a moment before saying, "If you want, you can crash at my place."

"Really?" Ruby asked hopefully before trying to downplay it. "I mean, only if you're sure. I know LJ's there, so you don't have to-"

"I want to." Ray said before a shy, cute little smile came over his face. "I mean, I can take the couch and you can take my bed. I promise my room's not mess."

"No." Ruby said. "It's your place. I'll take the couch."

"I insist." Ray said firmly. "I'll sleep on the couch. If it really makes you feel bad, repay me in coffee."

"Just coffee?" Ruby asked, unable to stop the flirtatious tone or smile she took on.

Ray smiled all nervously as he stammered, "Uh, yeah, yes." He then took a moment before nodding toward his apartment. "Shall we?"

Ruby gave a false sigh. "If we must." She said before smiling teasingly.

Ray goodnaturedly gave a chuckle and led her to the apartment after Ruby grabbed her suitcase.

Maybe things were looking up after all.

* * *

It felt strange being back in Declan's shack. Henry hadn't been there since before Declan passed out at the school, before he was sent to live with Graham. Looking at it now brought both good and bad memories, but it was no longer Declan's place. No, instead it was HQ for his friends to discuss the curse.

Sitting inside the shack, Henry noticed some differences. For one, things were a little cleaner than before, and even the police tape had been taken down and used almost as a decorative ribbon around the bedpost. There were cleaner blankets, which Ava said came from each of them, and there were already snacks there. There was even soda and red plastic cups. Furthermore, there were more chairs than before, so everyone had a place to sit.

Once there, LJ told Henry and Declan, "We wanted to tell you two before, but we wanted to give you something to protect yourselves from Regina first. We all hated what she did to you, and we wanted to do something because...well because we didn't think the adults were." He then added, "Look...I'm still not sure what I was looking at, but ever since we left that mausoleum, the only thing I'm sure of now is that Henry was absolutely right about this. That was a heart, and Regina's...Regina's the Evil Queen."

Henry saw Declan roll his eyes in exasperation, but even that wasn't enough to ruin Henry's good mood. Finally, validation! More people on his side that proved that he was telling the truth, who knew for sure that he wasn't crazy.

Paige looked at Declan rolling his eyes and snapped, "I know it sounds crazy, but why would we make this up?"

Declan still didn't look too sure.

Henry said, "Then we should go into the mausoleum and see for ourselves."

Declan looked at him incredulously. "You want us to break into your mom's mausoleum, a place for dead people, after everything she's threatened to do to us?"

While Declan had some good and fair points, Henry knew that proof of Regina's alter ego was exactly what they needed.

"Then I'll go by myself." Henry said. "And I'll bring heart back and show it to you."

Declan didn't seem comforted by this. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm not being stupid." Henry retorted hotly. "I'm getting proof because you still don't believe."

"What if you get caught?" Declan shot back.

"I won't." Henry said angrily.

"But what if you do?" Declan said as he raised his voice.

"Then screw it!" Henry shouted, vaguely aware of how everyone except Declan flinched in their seats. "I don't care! I just want to break this stupid curse! I am tired of everyone thinking I'm crazy!"

"But I don't want her to hurt you!" Declan shouted back. There was a long silence that followed as Declan and Henry looked at each other, and Henry saw both frustration and fear on Declan's face.

Henry huffed before he looked away, knowing that Declan still didn't believe. He had to change his mind somehow. He just had to.

"So, uh…" Ava trailed off awkwardly, reminding a now embarrassed Henry and Declan that they had an audience.

"What are we going to do now?" Nick asked.

No one really knew.

Truthfully, Henry had only two thoughts in his mind. The first was that he now had four more people who would be on board for Operation Cobra. The second was that, no matter how much Declan might protest, Henry was going to get his hands on a heart.

* * *

_February 25, 2012_

"Daddy, Daddy, breakfast is ready." Mai's voice said to Killian as his eyes remained closed. "Daddy."

"I'm up, I'm up." Killian said, eyes opening slowly as he banished the remnants of the nightmare he was having from his mind. In his dreams, he saw that heart glowing and beating unnaturally in that box before it was replaced with an image of a similar heart in scaly hands. In an agonizingly slow movement, the scaly hand wrapped around the heart more and more until-

"Daddy?" Mai asked again, and Killian's bleary vision finally cleared as she saw Mai standing up, nearly eye level as he was still lying on the couch.

"I heard you." Killian said before teasingly grabbing her in a surprise hug. "That's what you get for waking me."

Mai just giggled as he pretended to bite her cheek. "Phoebe made pancakes."

"Did she?" Killian asked as he let her go, sitting up to see Phoebe putting some pancakes on a plate.

Not a bad way to start a Saturday.

He looked at the time and realized he slept in. "Did my alarm not work?" He asked curiously as he stood up to go the bathroom.

"It did." Phoebe said as she began to pull out some napkins. "You just slept through it, which is kind of surprising since you never sleep through the alarm. We decided to let you sleep in. You looked like you could use it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Killian asked through the now closed bathroom door.

"You just seemed a little off last night." Phoebe answered. "Coffee will be ready when you get out."

"Thank you." Killian said before getting ready. Once he was done and washed up, he looked at himself in the mirror, and nearly sighed when he realized that the girls must have seen how stressed he was. It was a wonder he didn't just start blurting out the truth of what he saw, or how on some imperceptibly deep level he felt shaken.

 _I can't let the girls know that,_ Killian thought, not least of all because he had sworn himself to secrecy. He was a grown man. What kind of effect would seeing that have on two young girls.

Killian took in a deep breath through his nose before releasing it, thinking _, Keep it together. It's not fair on them to pick up the slack because you're being weak._

With that in mind, Killian put on a smile before he left the bathroom, joining the girls at the counter.

"Thank you." He said as Phoebe poured him some coffee. "So, what do you two want to do today?"

"Not sure- ah crap." Phoebe said after she accidentally spilled some orange juice on her pajama shirt. "I'll be right back." She promised as she went back into the main room before closing the door.

Killian then looked at Mai who was looking at him curiously. No, not him. As Killian followed her gaze, he realized that she was staring at his stump, which he'd forgotten to put his prosthetic hand on.

"What happened to your hand?" Mai asked him curiously.

"Uh, an accident." Killian said, feeling slightly embarrassed as she kept looking at it. "It's not nice to stare."

"Sorry." Mai apologized, looking away though her eyes tended to stray back to the stump. "Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes." Killian admitted. "Not a lot though."

Mai looked at him with all the sad contemplation a 4-year-old was capable of before pressing two fingers to her lips, and then reaching over to press those fingers against his stump. "Feel better." She said warmly.

Killian smiled at her sadly, yet appreciative of what she was trying to do, before leaning forward and kissing her on the top of her head. "You're a very sweet girl, you know that?"

"I try." Mai said sassily.

Killian gave her an amusingly surprised look. "And cheeky too. Come here." He then used his right hand to start tickling her, trying to her his other arm to hold her in place so she didn't fall off the stool in the midst of her squirming.

"Daddy, no!" Mai protested while laughing.

That's when Killian spotted Phoebe, now in a proper shirt and jeans, looking at them with a mixture of wistfulness and longing. However, the longing was tinged with something else. Discontent perhaps. If so, why?

Killian stopped his tickling assault to say, "Well, come over then. You put in the work. Enjoy your breakfast."

"Yeah." Phoebe said quietly before walking over to eat her pancakes with less enthusiasm that she showed before.

"What's going on?" Killian asked her.

"Nothing." Phoebe said, not looking up from her plate.

"It's not nothing." Killian said as Mai ate her pancakes. "You've been acting this way for a while. Something's bothering you."

"It's nothing." Phoebe repeated, this time a little testily.

Incensed at her tone, Killian said, "Phoebe, don't take that tone. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Phoebe said frustratingly when she finally looked at him.

It was then that Lady seemed to appear out of nowhere, and circled around them while she yipped.

Lady's appearance didn't break the tension, however, as even Mai seemed to pick up the beginnings of an argument between Killian and Phoebe.

Killian tersely said, "Phoebe, come with me. We're going to the bedroom."

Phoebe started, "But-"

" _Now_." He told her firmly, leaving no room for argument. Soon, the two of them were in the room, and he closed the door just enough so that he could still keep an eye on Mai through the little gap. He turned to Phoebe and said, "Something has been bothering you, and I've tried to give you your space, but clearly it isn't working."

"It's not your business." Phoebe snapped out.

"It is my business, because I'm your guardian." Killian told her.

"Guardian, yeah, so stop acting like your my dad!" She shouted, and then a second later all of the anger drained from her face as she realized what she had just said.

Killian himself felt the anger leave him as well, as it was overwhelmed by a crushing feeling in his chest. His mind thought back to when she had called him Dad at the Miner's Day festival, and logically he thought that maybe she was just saying it to hurt him. It didn't prevent him from feeling the full brunt of how badly it _hurt_.

Phoebe said quietly, "Killian...I-"

"Eat your breakfast." Killian said stoically. "It's getting cold."

He then turned and left the room, leaving Phoebe to stand there wondering what the hell she had just done.

* * *

 _I can do this,_ Henry said as he sneaked across the cemetery in broad daylight. _I can totally do this._

Of course, no one else knew he was doing this, which was probably for the best. Whether or not they knew his reasoning, he knew that someone would have tried to talk him out of it. But as he came to the sight of the mausoleum, where the doors were closed, Henry knew that there was no point in turning back.

In truth, Henry felt more than a little nervous. He had always thought of this as a place where his mom visited her dad, which given how she murdered him seemed creepy. Now, though, he knew it was where she placed her vault, where all of the hearts of her victims resided.

But he needed proof. He needed to show Declan the truth so that he could finally understand what was going on, so that he wouldn't think Henry was crazy anymore.

With a deep breath, Henry opened the doors of the mausoleum. There, he found that the coffin was still pushed to the side, and that there were stairs like the others had said. Steeling himself, Henry descended down the steps.

It was everything like they described, and it looked very much like it did in the book, and yet Henry had to look around, feeling mystified that he was actually standing in his mom's vault.

 _No,_ he told himself, reminding himself that she wasn't his mother. _I'm standing in the Evil Queen's vault._

Henry forced himself to start walking, looking around at everything. There he saw the shelves that the others had described, where he knew the hearts were hidden. He also saw through some curtains was an area with a dais and, unless he was mistaken, some vials woh mysterious fluids inside them.

Henry wanted to explore that area, but he was on a mission, and he didn't know how much time he had before he was discovered.

So, with shaking legs and even shakier hands, he went to one walls, and opened one of the compartments like how Ava explained it.

With careful yet cold hands, Henry lifted out the box that had been hidden in the compartment, and opened it.

Henry had seen the images of glowing hearts in his book many times, sometimes even in the act of it being ripped out of someone's chest. The first time he had seen that he'd been stuck staring at it for a solid five minutes. And yet it couldn't even compare to the stunned feeling that left Henry breathless. There it was - someone's heart that had been cruelly ripped out, glowing and beating in this cold, dark place like it would have done in its owners chest.

 _Who do you belong to?,_ Henry thought sympathetically. _Where are you supposed to be?_

Henry stared at it in horrified wonder when he heard a sound. He startled so badly that he nearly dropped the box, unless he realized it was the sound of bird chirping nearby, it's chirping echoing down there.

Deciding that he'd been there long enough, Henry snapped the lid of the box shut and ran up the stairs. Once he was outside he ran as quickly as he could away from the cemetery.

Now he had proof, and with it he was going to show Declan once and for all that the curse was real.

* * *

"You want to be a librarian?" Dada asked, just barely able to not laugh at the way Ruby's face frowned at the suggestion.

"Ehhh, I'm keeping my options open." Ruby told her. "Besides I just need to find something to do so I don't have to work for Granny again."

Dada winced sympathetically, as Ruby had given her the rundown of the fallout between Ruby and her grandmother. "Well...we can look out for any job openings."

"If we have to," Ruby sighed dramatically, causing Dada to roll her eyes.

"In any case, I'm sure there's something out there for you." Dada says. "If not, well...are you going to leave Storybrooke."

"I don't know, maybe?" Ruby said uncertainty. "I mean, I'm always talking about how there's nothing to do in Storybrooke, but I don't think I have enough money to go anywhere else. I mean, August talked about spending a whole year without a roof, and maybe I could do that, but…"

"You're still not sure if you want to go." Dada said, and from the look on Ruby's face, she knew that she'd hit the mark. Dada then said, "If anyone can understand that changing things up that dramatically is scary, it's me." Dada then stepped closer to Ruby and said, "Whatever you need, just ask me, okay?"

Ruby paused for a moment before smiling a little. "Okay."

"Great." Dada said, feeling better on Ruby's behalf. And then, to keep the mood up, she teased, "By the way, what was spending the night with Ray like?"

Ruby gave her a mostly amused look. "Not as exciting as I would've liked. He insisted I sleep in his bed while he took the couch. He got all shy every time I suggested he join me."

"You're so bad." Dada said at the gleam in Ruby's eyes.

"I try." Ruby replied with a smirk. "Speaking of relationships, how are things going with Jefferson?"

At that, Dada's smile dimmed, and her good mood dissipated.

Sensing this, Ruby said, "Oh. Not good then?"

"No, no, they're fine." Dada said readily before admitting, "Okay, not totally fine." Dada then sighed in embarrassment. "I got drunk the night of my birthday party. I don't even remember how I did it, but all I remember is wandering by Gold's shop, and then Jefferson taking me home. Ever since then he's been all shifty on what happened that night."

"I mean...it's probably fine." Ruby said before her tone turned more protective and serious. "You want me to talk to him?"

Embarrassed, Dada said, "No, no. I just...I don't know what's bothering him. Usually he'll tell me something, just to get it off his chest, but this is different somehow. For some reason, it's like...he feels guilty about something, but he won't tell me what."

"Weird." Ruby commented. "You sure you don't want me to talk to him?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Dada said resignedly. She didn't know how she was going to get Jefferson to admit the truth, but she would have to do it somehow. There had been this hesitancy, this distance between them, ever since the night she got drunk. If they were going to get over this, she had to do something.

Dada then remembered that Ruby was still there, and put a smile on her face. "Enough about me. We need to find you a job."

"Actually," Ruby said, an intrigued look on her face, "I'm going to see if maybe Graham and Emma are hiring."

"You want to be a cop?" Dada asked.

"I don't know." Ruby replied. "Like I said, I'm keeping my options open." She then hugged Dada, who hugged her back, and left the library.

Dada was alone in the library, and probably would be alone since Killian, his girls, and Lady left, albeit with a tense air between Killian and Lady.

Dada let out a slow breath. Maybe she could use this time to figure out what to do next.

* * *

Mary Margaret didn't know why she was doing this. Honestly, was this even a good idea?

 _Yes it is,_ a voice in her mind insisted, and Mary Margaret was loathe to disagree with it.

She entered the Storybrooke Pet Shelter, where she coincidentally bumped into David.

"Mary Margaret, hi." David said as a little smile came over his face, one that likely matched the smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, um…" Mary Margaret trailed off, a little nervous now that she was actually going to get a second opinion. She talked about it with Emma last night, but her roommate seemed preoccupied with something. She still said yes though, so that was something right. Clearing her throat, Mary Margaret said, "Well, I've thought a lot about what everyone said and...I want to adopt Copper."

Mary Margaret felt her heart lighten at the excited look on David's face.

"Really?" He asked with an encouraging smile.

"Mhmm." Mary Margaret hummed, feeling better that David seemed to think it was a good idea. "I already talked it over with Emma, so we're good to go."

"Great." David said before nudging her to the front. "Let's go get Copper."

Mary Margaret's smile widened as she and David went to the front.

The person at the front desk recognized Mary Margaret immediately, but thankfully they didn't seem to mind. "Hello. How can I help you today?"

Getting reassuring look at David, Mary Margaret said, "I'd like to get a dog."

The front desk person smiled as they asked, "Well, we have a lot of dogs in need of a good home. Do you have any ideas on what you want?"

"I do, actually." Mary Margaret said. "I've met this little puppy before, Copper, and I'd like to take him home."

"He's a little trouble maker, but very loyal." They told Mary Margaret before leading her and David to the back.

Soon, they came upon the cage Copper was in, and the puppy immediately started barking and jumping around excitedly at the sight of Mary Margaret.

"Hi, Copper." Mary Margaret said as David handed her the puppy, who immediately began trying to lick her face. "I know, it's good to see you too."

"We'll just need you to sign a fee and some paperwork." The assistant said. "Plus, we may do a check up sometime in the near future."

"No problem." Mary Margaret said, knowing that she'd gotten enough savings so that buying Copper wouldn't be a huge hit. Even if it did, it would've been worth it.

The paperwork took a little time, as did the arrival of the head of the facility. This person then gave an overall explanation of what the dog would require, how training would work, numbers to call in case she needed information or an emergency, and so on and so forth.

As she was signing things, Freddie came in to clean a mess one of the animals had made. Missy was on his shoulder, and immediately Missy and Copper started staring at each other challengingly.

His eyes immediately lit up as he realized what was happening, but because he had work to do, all he could say was an excitedly whispered "Congratulations!" before quickly leaving. Missy and Copper didn't stop staring at each other until she and Freddie disappeared around the corner.

After signing one final signature, Mary Margaret handed in the paperwork.

"Congratulations, Ms. Blanchard." The head of the facility said with a smile. "You are now Copper's mom."

"Yay." Mary Margaret said quietly with a grin as she put a leash on Copper. "We're going home."

Copper barked happily as they walked out of the pet shelter together, David walking beside them.

"Don't you still have work?" Mary Margaret asked him.

"Oh yeah, darn." David said with a snap of his fingers. He then sincerely said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Mary Margaret said before her thoughts turned to darker matters. "Have you heard anything about where Kathryn is?"

David shook his head, his expression forming a frown. "No, and I'm getting really worried. I keep trying to think about who could do this, but as far as I know, Kathryn didn't have any enemies."

Mary Margaret told him, "I'm sure she's fine."

"How do you know?" David asked her, something in his tone hoping for confirmation.

 _How do I know?_ , Mary Margaret asked herself. She answered honestly, "It's just a feeling I have." Seeing the dissatisfied look on David's face, Mary Margaret risked briefly touching his arm comfortingly before pulling her hand back. "It's all going to be okay, David."

"I hope so." David told her before nodding to Copper with a somewhat forced smile. "Go on, enjoy your day with the little guy. You deserve it."

"You too." Mary Margaret said, lingering on as she wanted to touch him, kiss him, but still mindful of where they were. So she simply nodded, and left with Copper in tow, turning back only once to see David still watching her.

Continuing her walk to her car, Mary Margaret helped the puppy inside before placing the bad in the back of the car. Once she was safely in the driver's side, Mary Margaret took off, smiling when she glanced at Copper in the rear view mirror. "So, let's see if we can get the loft doggy-proof before Emma gets home."

* * *

"Has he called back yet?" Emma asked Graham as she threw darts at the target on the wall.

"For the fifth time, no he has not." Graham said a touch irritatedly, likely caused by his lack of sleep.

Emma, due to her own lack of sleep, snapped back, "I was just asking."

"I know." Graham said as he learned against the outer wall of his office, rubbing his eyes. "Ugh, if I didn't think Archie would find me mad, I would be in therapy with Declan right now."

Emma tried to say something, but she simply didn't have enough energy for it. She was currently surviving on a lot more coffee than she probably should've drank, but she could barely sleep. All she could think about were potential logical explanations for the heart in the box, and failing to stick to any of them.

 _It doesn't make any sense,_ Emma thought. She had tried looking up anything that might be similar to it, but nothing came up.

"Hello." Someone called out cheerily, but it was enough to cause both Emma and Graham to startle in surprise. Turning her head to look, Emma saw that it was Ruby, who took on an apologetic look. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to know if, well, maybe you guys had any openings."

"Openings?" Graham asked her.

"Mhmm." Ruby said a bit nervously. "Like any jobs or positions you might have open. Even if it's to just help organize or clean up something or whatever."

"I thought you worked at the diner." Emma said.

"Not anymore." Ruby said, and from her tone, Emma guessed that things hadn't gone well.

"Um…" Graham trailed off. "Well, we might have enough in the budget for another employee, just not one in the line of duty."

"Wasn't planning on it." Ruby joked before she hurriedly added, "But I can do other stuff. Just anything you need. Please."

Emma recognized Ruby's desperation, and thought about what they could do when the non-emergency phone rang.

"Is that an emergency?" Ruby asked as Emma answered the call.

"Hello Mrs. Ginger." Emma greeted the irritated old woman as Graham explained what the emergency line was. Listening to the older woman's complaint, Emma said, "No, Mrs. Ginger, that's Pongo. Archie will want him back. Do you still want me to come over?" After the old woman said no, Emma hung up.

Looking back at Ruby, Emma got an idea. "Hey Graham." Emma said. "Do we have enough in the budget for a secretary?"

Graham, understanding her idea, nodded. "I believe so. How about it, Ruby? You think you could help us get organized and answer the phones."

"Yes, absolutely." Ruby said eagerly. "I promise you won't regret it."

The non-emergency phone rang again, and Emma said, "There's your chance. Go nuts."

Ruby eagerly set to work answering the phones as Graham grabbed his jacket.

"I better get going." Graham said. "I'm going to be late picking up Declan. Think you can hold down the fort?"

"It's me, remember?" Emma asked rhetorically before she walked forward, whispering to him so that Ruby wouldn't hear, "Listen, if you get a chance-"

"I'll check in with Bill after I pick up Declan." Graham said more patiently. "I'm freaked out too, and the sooner we figure out what we're dealing with the better."

Emma merely nodded as Graham walked away, leaving Emma in the station with Ruby, feeling something twist in her stomach, like she was waiting for something to happen.

* * *

 _Where is he?,_ Henry thought as he nervously stood by the the door of Graham and Declan's place, awkwardly hiding the heart box behind his back as he caught his breath. He'd been running around the town for awhile now, but he couldn't figure out where Declan was. He had tried to find Declan at the apartment earlier, but no one was there. He only came back because in his tired mind, he figured that Declan would have to come back eventually.

He couldn't risk going home yet, and the longer Henry had the heart with him, the more a part of his mind told him that he would be caught.

"Henry?" Declan's voice asked curiously.

Henry snapped his head to the side, relieved to see Declan was there with the key to the apartment in his hand.

"Where have you been?" Henry asked him, keeping the heart box behind his back, still freaked out by how he could almost _feel_ the heart beating inside it.

"I was at therapy with Archie." Declan responded. "What are you doing here?"

Henry nearly blurted it out right there before he said, "We should go inside. I want to tell you something."

"Okay, cool." Declan said a touch warily as he opened the door to his apartment, and let the two of them inside. Once he locked the door, he asked, "What's that behind your back?"

Henry smiled as he brought the box forward, presenting it to Declan without opening it. "It's proof that the curse is real. That everything LJ, Ava, Nick, and Paige said was true."

"Henry, come-" Declan started before the words died on his lips, as Henry had decided to wait no longer and opened the box. Declan looked like he wanted to take a step back, but he managed to maintain his footing as his eyes focused on the heart beating in the box.

"I know it's weird." Henry told him.

"Yeah." Declan said. "How is it doing that?"

"Magic." Henry insisted, barely suppressing a frustrated sigh when Declan rolled his eyes. Henry placed the box on a nearby side table, carefully pulling out the heart despite the shiver that ran throughout his body. He then turned to Declan and said, "Touch it."

Declan looked at him incredulously before shaking his head with a "No."

"Come on." Henry goaded. "It feels like flesh, just like our friends said."

Declan paused for a moment before sighing. "Okay, fine. It's probably just some synthetic-" Declan reached out to touch the heart, likely expecting to feel plastic or something artificial, but the second the tips of his fingers touched it, he stilled. Pulling his hand back slightly, Declan hesitated a moment longer before touching the heart again, this time longer.

Declan jumped back in horror, pulling his hand back as if the heart in Henry's hand had burned him. "What the fuck?!" He shouted.

"Whoa, take it easy." Henry said as soothingly as possible, his heart sinking as Declan reacted the last way Henry would've wanted.

"No, no, no, no." Declan stammered out as he took a step back. "No, fuck, what? Fuck that's...that's a real heart. That thing is fucking beating Henry!"

"It's okay." Henry tried to assure him. "We'll figure out who it belongs to-"

"Who it belongs to?" Declan repeated, his eyes wide and frightened. "That's...th-that's someone's heart. That's a heart that's out of someone's body and it's _beating_."

Henry felt something in his stomach clench at Declan's reaction.

And then, a look of horror came over Declan's face. "Oh fuck." He swore quietly. "Oh god. You were right. About everything. All the weird things that happened in town, your _mom_. Your adopted mom is evil. Your mom is the actual evil queen?"

"Yes." Henry said, for the first time actually uncertain about repeating this story given the scared look on Declan's face. "She's the Evil Queen, but my real mom is the Savior. She's going to save us."

"Not me." Declan said as he started breathing hard. "I'm nobody. I'm no one. She'll save you and her family and important people but me? Your evil mom's going to kill me."

"No she won't." Henry told her.

"Yes she will!" Declan shouted in dismay.

"No she won't!" Henry shouted back. "I won't let her."

Declan started laughing, but it wasn't from humor or joy. It was born from a mixture of fear and anxiety that only served to show how frayed Declan's nerves had become. Henry, for the first time, was beginning to regret showing him the truth.

"She's gonna kill me." Declan smiled fearfully. "She's actually going to lock me away in a dark place and kill me."

"No, she-" Henry started, but Declan ignored him and raced into his room. Henry, careful not to jostle the heart too much, followed Declan into his room, and saw Declan frantically stuffing his clothes into his backpack. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving." Declan told him as he searched around and began looking for anything he might try to see.

"What?" Henry asked in surprise. "You can't. You know the truth now. If you go over the town line, something bad will happen."

"If Graham and I stay here, something bad will definitely happen." Declan shot back as he went to get his egg.

"But-" Henry started once more, but he heard the door to Declan's home open.

"I'm home!" Graham announced, and Henry quickly hid the heart behind his back. Graham saw Declan and started saying, "There you are. I went to Archie's to find you but-"

Declan practically ran past Henry as he went up to Graham. "We have to go." He told him hurriedly.

"Go?" Graham asked. "What do you mean?"

"We have to get out of town." Declan said as his breath stuttered. "You, me, Nancy and Fernando. We have to get out of town right now."

"Whoa, easy." Graham said soothingly as he kneeled down to try to be eye level with Declan. "Where's this coming from?"

Henry saw Declan hesitate before saying, "Just...it's just not safe here. It's not safe with Regina here."

Graham took on a worried look and gently put his hands on Declan's arms. "Declan, did something happen?" He asked with protectiveness in his voice. "Did Regina do anything?"

"She…" Declan trailed off. "Please, we all just have to get out of town."

"Not until you tell me what's happened?" Graham asked, now with a touch of fear in his tone.

"This happened." Henry said, pulling the heart from behind his back and presenting it to Graham, who looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Oh my god." Graham breathed out as he approached Henry. "Henry, where did you get that?"

"My mom's vault. L-" Henry started to say that LJ and the others found it, but he kept his mouth shut in the fear that somehow the Evil Queen would make Graham tell her. Wait...oh crap. Henry put the heart behind his back as he tried to cover up what he just did. "Um, actually, it's a trick and-"

"You went under the mausoleum, didn't you?" Graham asked.

Surprised, Henry asked. "How did you-"

" _Henry_." Graham said more sternly than he'd ever spoken to Henry before, making it clear that he wasn't joking around. "Show me the heart."

Henry reluctantly did so, and hesitantly allowed Graham to take it. However, there was something curious in Graham's expression. Instead of the horror and shock Henry had seen in everyone else's expression, Graham seemed strangely more...resigned. No, not resigned, but he seemed way more familiar with the concept of a beating, glowing heart than he should been.

With that in mind, Henry then questioned again, "Graham, how did you know about the vault under the mausoleum?"

"Because I've been there." Graham responded, to which both Henry and Declan nearly shouted, "What?!"

That seemed to snap Graham out of his reverie, but before he could say something he got a call. "Get something to put this in." Graham ordered as he answered the call, and Henry went to get the box. By the time he got back, Graham placed the heart in the box as he was saying, "Yeah, I've- Is it Kathryn?" There was a pause before Graham breathed out a sigh that was nearly relief, but not quite there. "A heart attack? Poor man. No, no, no listen." Graham then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Alright, Emma listen, I can't go. Yes this is an emergency. Just get the information you need, send the body to the morgue, and as soon as you finish up, get to my place. I can't explain over the the phone, but just trust me, okay?" There was another pause before Graham answered, "Alright. See you soon."

Graham then ended the call with a sigh, and looked seriously at the boys, causing Henry to swallow a sudden lump in his throat.

"Alright." Graham said. "We are going to have a long talk about what you know before Emma gets here. Tell me everything."

* * *

 _I've just got to get through the day,_ Ray thought, already eager to go home as it was a Saturday. LJ was hanging out at a friend's house, but something about him seemed off. Ray couldn't tell what it was, but LJ seemed more stressed that usual. He'd tried broaching LJ about it, but his nephew said that he was just worried about school. Even Ray's assurances that he was doing well didn't seem to ease his mind.

 _Maybe I should take him out for ice cream,_ Ray thought. _Or maybe-_

"Oh, sorry." Ray apologized when he bumped into someone, just managing to maintain ahold of his documents.

"Oh, it's you." The man replied, and Ray suppressed and aggravated sigh when he saw that it was Albert Spencer.

"Hello, Albert." Ray said with a hard smile.

Albert raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Do I have to constantly ask you to refer to me as 'Mr. Spencer'?"

"When you stop calling me Ray in court, maybe I will." Ray replied, his smile still on his face. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Ray began walking away, though to his displeasure he found that Albert was following him.

"You know you're not obligated to defend a criminal." Albert told him. From anyone else, it might have been well-intentioned but misguided advice. From Albert it was just another way to pester him.

"I defend clients, which unless they're conflicting with you, is none of your business." Ray said without looking at the man.

"Do you know something about Kathryn Nolan's disappearance?" Albert insisted.

Ray suppressed another sigh as he glanced at Albert. "I don't know where Kathryn Antonis is."

"Does your client?" Albert pestered.

Ray stopped them as he turned to shortly tell Albert, "Listen to me clearly - I don't want to deal with you, and you clearly don't like dealing with me, so whatever my client may or may not say to me is, as I said, _none of your business_."

Before Albert could say more, someone came by.

"As much as I love the sight of two lawyers arguing," Judge Herman said as he approached, "I believe Mr. Fitzroy and I have an appointment."

Albert noticeably calmed and softened - as much as he could - his own features before Judge Herman before saying "Your Honor," and leaving, though not without sending one last dirty look at Ray behind Judge Herman's back.

Then Ray was alone with Judge Herman, and not for the first time, Ray remembered the day he swore at this same judge in the courthouse.

Trying not to let his embarrassment show, Ray greeted, "Hello, Judge Herman. I thought I was meeting with Judge Santos for this."

Judge Herman replied, "Well, Judge Santos was sick with the flu, so now I'm taking over. Is that a problem?"

 _When is it not?,_ Ray thought snarkily. Instead he said, "Not at all."

"Let's proceed then." Judge Herman said as he led Ray into a private room.

As expected, the meeting was rather...awkward. If anything, it was even worse than usual, because now Judge Herman was barely holding onto his level of professionalism. It was clear that he wanted to get Ray out of there as quickly as possible. This was nearly too much.

And then Judge Herman said, "Anything else, or do you have something else to do?"

Maybe it was because of the flippant tone. Maybe it was because of Ray's still simmering annoyance with Albert. Or maybe it was both.

Either way, Ray had had quite enough of this.

"Your Honor," Ray started, knowing he was treading on thin ice but just finding it difficult to continue on, continued to say, "would you have preferred for me to have not helped Sean, Ashley, and Alexandra at all?"

Judge Herman looked at him and asked, "Do you think this is an appropriate line of questioning in the workplace?"

"It must be." Ray said. "After all, you've seen fit to hold me accountable for helping them today, which is why I can assume you're so eager to see me gone."

"Now hold on-" He started, but Ray wouldn't let him finish.

"Judge Herman, I'm well aware of the fact that you don't like me." Ray interrupted. "I'm in fact perfectly okay with this as long as we can maintain professionalism. I didn't get into the business of being a lawyer to be well-liked. My main issue is that while we're here trading verbal blows, Sean is working himself to the bone at the mechanic's shop to support himself and his family."

"He is a kid." Judge Herman said with a touch of anger. "He shouldn't be working at all."

"I absolutely agree." Ray said. Seizing on Judge Herman's clear surprise, he added, "He should be going to college, hanging out with friends, not raising a baby at this state, but it happened. He and Ashley were careless, and now they're paying for it, but at least they're trying to do right by their baby. At least Sean isn't pulling a runner like some people."

"I know that." Judge Herman said, still with a stern expression, but now seemingly less assured of his convictions as he once was.

Ray took a calming breath before saying, "When you brought up my cousin and LJ's dad, I was angry, and I shouldn't have sworn at you, but the fact of the matter remains that I am well aware of how badly a situation can go when two young people have no idea what to do with a baby. I was alone, with a baby that wasn't even mine, and I didn't have anyone, least of all my father who couldn't begin to care about what I was up to. Because of that and other things, I haven't spoken to him in years, and I still resent him. Forgive me for saying, Your Honor, but unless you can figure out this thing between you and Sean, your son might be giving the same speech about you that I've just given you about my father."

For a long moment, it seemed as if Judge Herman would argue. In lieu of that, he was doing an admirable job at trying to burn a hole in Ray's head with his eyes. Instead, after that long moment passed, Judge Herman just sighed with a resigned look as he leaned back in his seat.

Ray did his best not to shift in his own seat as the silence dragged on.

Finally, the judge spoke. "Ashley was the first girl Sean ever loved, you know? I mean, he'd had crushes here and there, but her...she was special. I was even happy for them, but then she got pregnant, and all I could think about was how he would end up working a 9-5 job making ends meet to support them. I didn't want that for him. I wanted him to have a shot. The only reason I wanted Ashley to go through with the adoption was so that she could have a shot too. Now though...he's working a 9-5 job because I won't help, isn't he?"

Ray hesitated before nodding silently.

Judge Herman sighed before looking at Ray once more. "Let me make one thing clear, I still don't like your interfering with my family...but it was wrong of me to bring up what happened with your family." And a pause, he added, "I'm sorry."

Ray just silently nodded again.

Judge Herman nodded back at him. He then said, in a more patient voice, "Alright. I suppose I've been remiss in my duties. This is a place of work, not for petty feuds. Come on. Did you have anything else?"

"Yes, just one more thing." Ray said before handing him the last document he had. "It's a petition for my client to fight for custody of her son."

"Who's the plaintiff?" Judge Herman asked as he opened the document.

"Deputy Emma Swan." Ray said. "She wants to fight for custody of her son Henry."

Ray would have laughed at the look on Judge Herman's face as he realized that the defendant in that case would beRegina, but that didn't seem appropriate.

Eventually, the meeting concluded, and Ray left the courthouse ready to get something to eat.

On the way though, he spotted Ruby leaving Granny's in a disappointed, saddened huff.

"Hi, Ruby." Ray said as he halted her.

"Hi, Ray." Ruby said with a disheartened look.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ray asked her concernedly.

"Nothing." Ruby said with false cheer in her voice, and an equally false smile. "I got a job as a secretary for the police."

Ray replied, "That's great, but that doesn't explain why you seem so sad."

Ruby paused before saying, "I told Granny about my new job, but she couldn't care less. Figures." Ruby looked away, her lips turning down to a frown.

Ray felt his heart clench a little at the disappointed look on Ruby's face. Despite her ranting from last night about how controlling her grandmother was, he knew that she wanted to impress the old woman. In any case, despite Mrs. Lucas' somewhat frosty demeanor towards him, he did respect her, but more importantly, he wanted Ruby to be happy.

So he smiled a little and said, "Just give it time. First, prove to yourself that you can do this, and then show your grandmother what you're capable of.

Ruby blushed, and she felt something in her heart lighten at the sincerity of Ray's words. He really did believe in her, didn't he? If he didn't, he wouldn't have said so. People would say stuff to spare her feelings, but not him. He was honest with her, and it made Ruby smile to realize that someone finally believed in her.

Because of this, and with a little help of impulsiveness, Ruby leaned up to kiss Ray.

Ray instinctively held her, both to keep her close and steady her, and kissed Ruby back.

* * *

 _This...is not good_ , Killian thought as he stood in Graham's apartment, looking warily at the new box with _another_ glowing heart in it, and then to the boys sitting on Graham's couch. He was glad he had dropped off Phoebe and Mai with Dada. He didn't know how he could've handled the two of them knowing on top of this.

"What were you thinking?" Emma asked Henry, who squirmed under her gaze.

"I just wanted proof." Henry said awkwardly, clearly knowing that a lecture was underway.

"You mean like the time you went into the mines to get proof?" Emma retorted.

"Well you have to believe now, right?" Henry shot back, and immediately got the look of a boy who knew he stepped a bit too far.

Even Declan looked awkward at the look Emma was giving Henry.

Emma looked like she was barely restraining some intense maternal anger as she said, "Let's make something clear right now. You are grounded."

"What?" Henry asked. "You can't do that."

"Watch me." Emma retorted sharply, and nearby Graham and Killian were wisely remaining silent. "You keep putting yourself in danger. What would have happened if Regina caught you?"

"I...I don't know." Henry said a little worriedly.

"Exactly." Emma told him. She then took a breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She then released it and said, "I know you want to help, Henry, but you're a kid. We're the adults. We're supposed to protect you. You get that right?"

Henry paused before nodding, adding a quiet "Yeah."

Before anyone could say anything, Declan asked without looking at anyone, "Is Regina gonna hurt us?"

This time, Graham went forward to say, "No, we won't let that happen."

"Why not?" Declan said with a somewhat hopeless look on his face. "If she's really the Evil Queen, it's not like she hasn't killed people before."

 _Ah right,_ Killian thought. _The Evil Queen from Henry's storybook._

Killian might have once been worried about Declan believing in the curse as well. Now though, Declan fearing Regina seemed to give credence to the curse.

Emma then asked, "Did you tell anyone else?"

Henry and Declan shook their heads.

"Does anyone else know?" Emma asked. When the boys hesitated, she then said in a warning tone, "Henry."

Henry, with a guilty look on his face, said, "LJ knows. So do Ava, Nick, and Paige. They're the ones who found the hearts in the first place."

"Tell us how." Graham said, having had time to talk to the boys beforehand.

Henry and Declan then began to talk about what their friends had been up to, and why they went into the mausoleum, all the while doing their best to mitigate what the kids had done.

The adults in the room left the boys to sit on the couch as they went to the side to discuss things.

The first thing Emma said was, "Regina can never know that they know."

"Agreed." Killian replied as Graham added "Absolutely."

"Do we need to talk to the other kids?" Killian asked them.

"At this point, I think we have to." Graham said. "If Declan's reaction is anything to go by, I doubt they're taking this discovery well. They'll want some answers soon, or else they might say something to the wrong person."

"They're just kids." Emma said concernedly. "They shouldn't have to see things like this."

Killian sympathized. After all, he didn't even want to imagine Phoebe or Mai being as hopeless or desperate as Declan was now. "No, they shouldn't, but it can't be helped now. The best way we can protect them is making sure they know what's going on, and making sure that no one realizes that they're in the know."

Emma hesitated before saying with a worried look, "This is really happening, isn't it? The curse...it's actually real?"

"We don't know that for sure." Graham said, although with a notable lack of confidence. "I...I have no idea what this could mean, but maybe it's an isolated incidence of strangeness. We'll know more once Bill calls back."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Emma said, nodding along with the clear hope that maybe Graham was right.

Killian wasn't so sure. He was hard pressed to believe it himself, but he highly doubted this was an isolated incident. For one, there were _two_ of those damn things, if not more. For another, something just seemed too wrong with all of this.

"I'll let the boys know." Graham said before going over to talk to the boys on the couch.

Killian turned to Emma now that they were more alone.

"This can't actually be happening." Emma said, though more to herself than to Killian.

"I'm afraid it is." Killian replied. "Whatever it is."

"It just can't." Emma snapped back insistently, though not so much in frustration as in the desperation of someone with frayed nerves. "I mean...there's got to be a logical explanation for this. There was this thing, uh, bioluminescence. That's in animals, but that could be the case here, right?"

Killian said nothing, though something in his expression must've betrayed how little he agreed with the idea.

Emma said, "It can't be Henry's curse. It just can't be."

"Why not?" Killian asked.

"What?" Emma asked back in surprise.

"Why can't it be because of Henry's curse?" Killian asked again. "In its own way, it's the only thing that can make any sense of this."

"Oh come on." Emma scoffed, though her heart didn't seem to be in it.

"Think about it." Killian told her, his conviction in this assessment growing. "A place full of glowing beating hearts, just like that vault in Henry's storybook. And not only that, but there's also every weird thing that's happened so far. No one realizing who David was until Regina just so happened to bring Kathryn to the hospital. No one can remember the last time a visitor besides you and August came along. Henry's insistence that no one aged until you came along. The fact that no matter how hard anyone seems to try, no one can leave town without something happening. And now we've got beating hearts in chests right in front of us that no one can explain. I'm sorry Emma, but it I don't think Henry's curse is as imaginary as we thought."

Emma looked at him silently with a mixture of disbelief, betrayal, and some signs of resignation while also clearly wanting to disagree with him.

Killian held his breath as he waited for a response.

Emma eventually said, "Okay, weird things have happened for sure, but I'm not ready to go along with that...idea until we get the test results back."

Killian barely restrained a frustrated sigh. "You think the test results can prove or disprove that this town is under a magical curse?"

"I don't know, Killian!" Emma nearly shouted.

A throat cleared, causing both Emma and Killian to stiffen, before turning towards the living room where Graham and the boys were standing.

Emma then said, "Henry, put your shoes on. We're going home."

"To my house?" Henry asked.

"No, to the loft." Emma said as she waved the boy over.

Henry first looked elated at the idea of spending time with Emma, but then worry took over. "But if my mom comes looking for me..."

"I'll deal with her. You're not going back there if I have anything to say about it." Emma said as Henry got his shoes on.

"I'll walk with you." Killian offered.

"No." Emma said quickly, stopping Killian in his tracks as he felt a little hurt. She then added more quietly, "I can handle it from here. See you."

She then walked out of the home with Henry without another word to them.

* * *

David sighed for about the hundredth time that day.

"You know, I'd like to think that my stories are pretty entertaining, but your yawning isn't helping." Freddie snarked as he cleaned up after some animals.

"Sorry." David apologized as he put some dogs back in their pens after their walk. "I was just thinking about Kathryn."

"Ah." Freddie said sympathetically. "Still no word about her."

David shook his head in worry. "They still haven't found her yet, and as far as I know she hasn't called anyone. I'm really starting to worry about her." David bit her lip in guilt, feeling as if he wasn't doing enough. "Maybe I should just search the woods. Maybe there's something there."

"By yourself?" Freddie asked. "You're more likely to get lose than anything else."

"Well I can't just sit here and do nothing." David snapped back.

"Hey, no need to snap at me." Freddie warned him.

David nearly sighed again, but held himself back as guilt began to overcome him. "Sorry, it's just...this isn't right. Kathryn doesn't deserve this."

Freddie nodded. "Well if you're really keen on combing the woods, at least let me come with you. Better yet, we should try making a plan on where to search and how. After work, we can probably talk to Graham and Emma about using a grid search."

"Sounds like a plan." David said, although he was itching to get out there already. Even if his marriage to Kathryn was all but dissolved, he still cared enough about her as a person to want to make sure that she was alright.

"We'll find her." Freddie told him. He looked around to make sure no one was listening before whispering, "Honestly, I'm just hoping Kathryn's disappearance has nothing to do with...that thing we saw at the sheriff's station."

David's stomach clenched uncomfortably at the memory of that thing, that _beating heart._ The minute he got home he ran straight into his bathroom and threw up in the toilet. The sight of that thing disgusted him to his very core, namely because something about it just felt so _wrong_.

"Yeah, me too." David said, trying not to think too hard about that thing.

Wherever Kathryn was, he sincerely hoped that her heart was still beating in her own chest.

* * *

So far, being a secretary for the police department wasn't so bad, especially since she and Ray got to eat lunch together in the sheriff's station all by themselves. The only downside had been Granny's lackluster reaction, and that one call made on the emergency line that turned out to just be some guy who wanted to know how to figure out why his TV wasn't working.

Yeah, that actually happened.

Now though, things were pretty quiet, and it was nice to spend some time with Ray.

And then Emma called the station.

"Hey Emma." Ruby said as she answered the phone.

"Ruby, listen, something came up, and I can't search the area Kathryn's car was found it." Emma said, getting straight to the point. "Neither can Graham, so I need you to go there and search the area."

"You want me to go?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's really important." Emma said. "I'd go myself, but I have something I need to handle right now. Can you go?"

"Are you sure you want me doing this?" Ruby asked her uncertainly.

"Ruby, you're the only one who can right now." Emma told her. "Please, I wouldn't ask you to do this unless I thought it was important."

Ruby looked at Ray, who was watching her curiously, when she asked, "Can I take Ray? He's already here at the station."

"If he's okay with it, sure." Emma said. "Can you do this?"

Ruby hesitated before saying, "Absolutely."

"Great." Emma replied. "And listen, if you guys see anything that might count as evidence, don't touch it without gloves or one of those evidence bags we have in the back. We need to make this as legit as possible, alright?"

"Alright." Ruby said as she began to get up.

"Okay. Let me know what you find." Emma said before she and Ruby said their goodbyes, and hung up the phone.

"What was that?" Ray asked.

"Emma needs me to search the area where Kathryn's car was found." Ruby told him. "She and Graham had something come up, so they can't go. I asked her if it was alright to bring you, and she said it was okay. You don't have to thought."

"I'm not about to let you go off on your own." Ray promised as he stood up. "Come on. We've got some searching to do."

The two of them grabbed gloves and evidence bags in the storeroom before they left in Ruby's car, arriving at the scene of the crime in no time at all. They began to search the area there, and started calling out Kathryn's name just in case she was around, but they go no response back.

"Think we'll find anything?" Ruby asked Ray as they walked through the woods.

"Not sure, but let's hope we find something that'll tell us what happened to Kathryn." Ray responded.

Soon, Ruby heard the sound of rushing water. "Is that the toll bridge?" She asked him as something enticed her to go towards it.

"I think so. Wait up." Ray said as she hurried to keep up with her.

"Let me call Emma." Ruby said as she got out her phone and dialed Emma's number.

"Hey Ruby." Emma said as she answered the phone. "You find anything yet?"

"Not yet." Ruby said as Ray called out for Kathryn again. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"Anything out of the ordinary." Emma said. "If you can turn something over, do it."

As Emma said this, Ruby's eyes drifted to a piece of wood near the shore. It seemed innocuous enough, but as she looked around, she saw a lack of structure of similarity to the piece of wood. It didn't resemble anything nearby, which was mostly stone, metal, or nature, that could've indicated that it simply broke off of something. It was a bit too clean cut for that.

"And...if we find something?" Ruby asked as she looked at the piece of wood.

"Just...follow your instincts." Emma said, and Ruby thought she heard Henry's voice in the background.

Following that advice, Ruby kneeled down in front of the piece of wood.

"Found something?" Ray asked as he joined her.

"Not sure." Ruby replied as she tried to lift up the piece of wood with one hand as she held onto her phone, thanking Ray when he helped her turn it over. Once it was gone, she saw that the area of sand that was once under the board was too uniform, too organized compared to the natural mess of the stone and sand around it.

"I think something was buried here." Ray commented.

"I was thinking the same thing." Ruby said as she put her phone to the side, picked up a stick and began to dig at the sand, Ray joining her soon after.

It didn't take long before there was a dull thud, and Ruby and Ray looked at each other in surprise.

"I've got the evidence bag." Ray said as he first put on the gloves, and then pulled out the evidence bag as Ruby began digging up the rest of the sand.

"What is it?" Emma asked over the speaker phone.

"I think we've got something." Ruby said as the sand parted, revealing some sort of box under it.

"Shit." Ray swore under his breath, somewhat surprised Ruby as he, with an apprehensive look on his face, reached in and carefully took the box out. "Emma, it's a box."

"Oh….okay." Emma said, and Ruby knew she heard some suspicion in her voice, but she was too fixated on the box Ray had pulled out. "What does it look like?"

"It looks kind of decorative." Ruby commented. "And it doesn't look locked."

Emma paused before saying, "Open it."

Ray's eyes glanced at the phone in hesitation before he placed one hand under the box to steady it, and then using the other hand to lift up the top.

"Aah!" Ruby screamed as Ray looked away.

"Ruby?" Emma called out. "Ray, what's going on?"

"God." Ray breathed out as he closed the lid, with Ruby too freaked out to form words.

"What is it? What happened?" Emma asked hurriedly.

"It's a fucking heart." Ray swore again, and Ruby was beginning to breathe. "It's...it's a still heart."

Ruby distantly thought, _Of course it's a still heart, why wouldn't it be?_

However, she was too busy trying to remember to breathe to think on it further.

"Oh god." Emma breathed out. "Listen, bag that thing and bring it to the station ASAP."

"Okay." Ray said with a somewhat freaked out look on his face, but he still seemed to be holding it together more than Ruby was.

That's when Ruby blurted out, "How can you be so calm about this?"

Ray paused before saying, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked as Ray put the box down, and immediately held her. Ruby tried to fight it off at first, her nerves beginning to fray, but soon she simply held him back, trying to hold onto some semblance of normalcy she had left.

There was a heart in a box nearby where Kathryn went missing, and Ruby didn't want to think about what that might mean for Kathryn.

* * *

Henry knew something bad had happened, at least something bad enough that Emma had to drop him off at the library with Dada to go to the station. Soon after, Declan was there too, along with LJ as Ray was apparently tied up in it also. Phoebe and Mai were there also, so something was keeping Killian busy as well.

Henry had heard Emma talking to Ruby over the phone, and he figured that they had found something, but since he was still grounded, Emma wouldn't tell him what it was. At least, that's why he thought she wouldn't tell him.

The place was still relatively empty, and the sun was beginning to go down, and Dada had tried to keep them entertained by playing a board game.

Henry had managed to whisper to LJ that the adults knew about the hearts, but he couldn't risk saying anymore as Dada, Phoebe, and Mai were still nearby. Dada was organizing something at the desk, and Phoebe was playing the board game with them while Mai played with Lady. He couldn't risk talking about Operation Cobra without them becoming too curious.

Besides, he had made a promise to his mom - Emma - that he wouldn't tell anyone for their own safety, and he wasn't about to break it now. Not only did he want to keep people safe, but she was mad enough at him already.

"So, uh, what'd you guys do today?" Phoebe asked Henry, LJ, and Declan as she moved her piece around the board.

 _Found a heart in the Evil Queen's mausoleum,_ Henry thought. Instead he said, "Exploring."

"Oh?" Phoebe asked, clearly hoping to get the conversation going. "Where'd you go?"

"Um, just around." Henry said, making the next move as it was his turn.

"Ah, cool, cool." Phoebe replied, although she looked hurt by brush off.

Feeling bad, Henry asked, "So, how was your day?"

"It was fine." Phoebe said, although for some reason there was the slightest sliver of guilt was on her face. "I got to hang out with my- with Killian, Mai, and Lady today."

"That's cool." Henry replied, and he could feel the awkward glances Declan and LJ were sending him.

"Lady, come." Mai giggled as she tried to catch Lady, who had a ball in her mouth.

Without meaning too, a bit if jealousy creeped up in Henry's heart as he remembered all of the attention Killian had given Mai. Again, he knew that it wasn't her fault, or thought that she was a bad kid. He just couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her, and of how blissfully ignorant she could be about everything.

Looking over at Phoebe, Henry was surprised that he found a similar expression on the teen's face.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked, now taking note of the light shadows under her eyes.

"I'm fine." Phoebe told him before she brow furrowed and her lips pursed, as if she was trying to hold in some difficult emotion. She then cleared her throat and asked, "What do you think is holding everyone up?"

 _Probably something bad,_ Henry thought before he said, "Not sure. I'm guessing it's something important."

"Yeah, probably." Phoebe said before turning her attention to the others. "How are things going with you two?"

The guys mumbled affirmations that things were fine, but it was clear to all that they weren't.

"When's Daddy coming back?" Mai asked, suddenly appearing by the table with Lady in tow.

"Don't know." Phoebe replied with a shrug.

Mai then walked around the table so that she was standing next to Henry. "Is your mom coming?"

"I don't know." Henry said as he lazily moved his game piece.

"Is your mom going to marry my daddy?" Mai asked with a little smile on her face.

"I don't know." Henry said before he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Mai, to his annoyance, followed him.

"It'd be nice if they got married." Mai said optimistically.

"I have to go to the bathroom, Mai." Henry said, feeling a little on edge as she wouldn't leave him alone. Honestly, things were getting a little too much, as he'd just gotten proof of the truth, his friends were on edge, and even the adults seemed scared. There was also the fact that they didn't seem any closer to breaking the curse. And now Henry had this little girl following him, and he really was trying to be patient but-

Mai then asked, "Ooh, if your mom marries my daddy, would that makes her my mommy?"

Quick as a flash, with a sudden rise of anger, Henry whirled around and told her, "She's not your mom!"

A moment passed before Henry's words sunk in, and he immediately began to regret his outburst when he saw Mai's lip wobble.

"No, no, wait, I-" Henry started before Mai let out a little sob, and before he could reach her to try to hold her, to try and explain, Mai ran off as she began crying.

Mai ran around the corner just as Phoebe came by, and she quickly pieced things together. "What the hell did you do?" Phoebe asked with a glare.

"I…" Henry trailed off before quietly saying, "Sorry."

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Phoebe shot back before she ran off to catch up with Mai.

Henry stood in the same spot as guilt welled up inside him, then thinking, _Great job, Henry. You managed to break something._

* * *

Emma seriously began to wonder what missteps she took in life to have _this_ be the third heart in a box she's seen _this week._

The box remained closed for now in the evidence bag, and everyone - including herself, Graham, Ray, Ruby, and Killian who had recently arrived - were staring at it. Soon they would have to put it on ice and send it to the hospital, but right now everyone except Ruby was trying to piece together what their life was coming to. Meanwhile, Ruby was in a state of shock with Ray holding her with one arm, trying to comfort her.

"That's really what I think it is, isn't it?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah." Emma replied.

"Oh god." Ruby said as she extricated herself from Ray's arm and walked away. Ray looked like he wanted to follow her, but he decided to let her keep her distance.

"I'll take it to the lab at the hospital." Graham said.

Emma nodded as she went over to check on Ruby. "You okay?"

"I don't know what I am." Ruby replied.

"It's going to be alright." Emma told her. "We can figure out what happened now. You did good, Ruby."

Ruby's eyes glanced towards the box and she asked, " _This_ is doing good?"

"She's right." Ray told Ruby. "We wouldn't have found it without you."

Emma tried to reassure Ruby by adding, "I know you say you don't know what you are, but I've got to say that I'm impressed."

Ruby chuckled with little tears in her eyes. "Don't be. I'm...I'm scared out of my mind."

"But you did it anyway." Emma told her firmly. She then added, "Listen, if you want to take the rest of the night off, that's fine. Right, Graham?"

"Absolutely." Graham replied. "Take the night, Ruby. You've earned it. You too Ray."

Ray nodded before he offered his hand to Ruby, who quickly accepted it, and together the two of them walked out of the door.

Once they were out of earshot, Killian asked, "How much does Ruby know?"

"Nothing." Emma answered. "As far as she knows, this is the only heart in a box in this town."

"Lucky her." Graham commented. Before anyone else could answer, he gave a great sigh. "Why do I get the feeling things are only going to get weirder?"

Truth be told, Emma was feeling the same way herself.

Graham then told them, "I'll take care of the paperwork."

"You don't have to." Emma said.

Graham shook his head. "It shouldn't take too long...hopefully. I'll pick up Declan as soon as I can. You mind watching him until I do?"

"Of course." Emma replied at the same time Killian nodded.

"Thank you." Graham said. "Now go on. Get your kids and get some sleep. At least some of us should, you know?"

Emma didn't know if she could go with that, but she nodded nonetheless. She'd give it her best effort.

Emma and Killian soon got into her Bug, and drove to the library.

What they found there wasn't so much peace and harmony as awkward tension, a locked apartment, and a guilty looking Henry.

Dada quickly explained what happened, which immediately Emma a bigger headache than she already had.

Killian quickly went upstairs to console Mai, sending Henry a disappointed look as he did so. Dada kept Henry's friends in the main area of the library while Emma took her son to the back for some privacy.

"Henry, why would you say that?" Emma asked him incredulously. "Why would you snap at her? She's a little girl."

"I didn't mean to." Henry offered, though it was clear he knew he screwed up.

"It doesn't matter if you meant to or not." Emma said. "You're older, you should know better."

"Why do I have to know better?" He shot back indignantly. "It's not like she's my actual sister."

"Where is this even coming from?" Emma asked him incredulously. "She made an innocent comment. It's something to yell at her over."

"She's always getting your attention." Henry blurted out. As he continued to speak, a hurt expression came over his face. "Every time we come over to Killian's apartment or they come to our house, when she comes around everyone looks at her. It's like suddenly it doesn't matter if I'm there or not, because Mai's around, and then she talks about how you and Killian could get married and you're going to be her mommy." Henry's lip wobbled a bit as he choked out, "You're _my_ mom. I finally got a mom that actually loved me, but now it's like I don't even matter, because I'm not young enough or cute enough, and now I've got no mom."

Emma heart sunk as she took in Henry's desperate words and the worried look on his face. Did he...did he actually think she didn't love him? And did he really think that she didn't care about him because he wasn't young enough or cute enough? God, how many times had she thought that whenever she was passed over for adoption?

The very thought made her feel hideous.

"Henry." Emma said, seeing that Henry was now avoiding eye contact. She placed a hand under his chin and tried to tilt it up. "Henry look at me."

Slowly, Henry did just that, and it was a clear struggle for him to do so and trying to maintain the facade that he didn't look like he was about to cry.

"Henry," Emma said as she cupped his face, "you are my son. If I pay attention to Mai, it's because I care about her, but _don't ever_ think that I don't love or want you. You are the whole reason I decided to stay in Storybrooke. I'm...I'm sorry that I didn't get to watch you grow up, and I know that it feels like we might have lost time or something, but I love _you_. You are the most important person in my life, and nothing is going to change that."

Henry looked at her for the longest moment, seemingly wanting to believe her, before he pulled away. "It doesn't feel like it. I'm going...I'm going home." He said morosely before he ran out of the library.

"Henry, wait!" Emma shouted as she ran outside, but once she got out there she saw that he was gone. She noticed his bike was gone, and unless he found himself at the loft, Emma figured that he went back to Regina's.

 _Great,_ Emma thought with a clenched heart and a sigh. _Just great._

* * *

Graham sighed as he looked at the time. Thankfully tomorrow was Sunday, but he still wanted to get Declan home before it got too late. Little things like enforcing certain curfews went a long way towards getting someone like Declan to actually follow the rules.

Graham felt a headache come on, and not just because of worries about his foster son. Seeing hearts that glowed, that were beating outside of someone's body, with no fathomable explanation as to why was frustrating to say the least. However, despite Emma and Killian's attempts to pretend otherwise, he'd heard them talking about a curse. He bet it had something to do with Henry's curse, the one Declan had talked about freely when they all believed it was just a product of Henry's mind.

Now though, it stuck with Graham more than he wanted.

Even if he didn't think that a curse was involved, Graham couldn't help but worry about what this meant for everyone else. If these hearts were real, who did they belong to? Why did Regina have them? What could this mean for people she didn't like, such as Emma or Graham? Or worse, their kids, or innocents like Nancy and Fernando?

His cell phone rang, startling him out of the silence of the bullpen, and once he saw it was Bill, he quickly answered it. "Hello."

"Graham, what the hell is this?" Bill asked in a sudden panic. "What did you give me?"

"Whoa, whoa, Bill, calm down." Graham said, trying to placate him while feeling confusion rise up. "Take a breath, what's going on?"

"Remember that heart you gave me?" Bill asked him. "The glowing one, yeah? Okay, something happened when I was trying to examine it. I was trying to dissect it further, and then it just...turned into ashes. Like that." Graham thought he heard fingers snap in the background of the call.

"Turned to ash, are you sure?" Graham couldn't help but ask.

"I saw it." Bill insisted. "I didn't know what to make of it, so I bagged it, and then that guy came in but everyone was swamped and-"

"Bill, breathe." Graham insisted when it was clear Bill was beginning to freak out.

"Mr. Latimer, the man who died of a heart attack earlier today." Bill said as he caught his breath. "Everyone said that it looked like he died of a heart attack, because he clutched at his chest and all, right?"

"Right." Graham said slowly, not getting what he was saying, though he certainly didn't like whatever it was Bill was building up to.

"You need a heart to have a heart attack, right?" Bill asked, his voice reaching a pitch as he spoke.

"Bill, what are you talking about?" Graham asked, though his stomach sunk as he began to slowly piece things together.

"The heart." Bill blurted out. "Mr. Latimer didn't have a heart in his chest. None at all. A-And when I checked the time stamp, I saw that when I was doing the examination of the heart, when it turned to ash, that's when Mr. Latimer die. Graham, Graham, what is going on?"

Graham sat there in shocked silence, listening to Bill demand to know what was happening, as Graham fearfully began to wonder if they had just gotten someone killed.

Realizing he had to get this under control, Graham ordered, "Bill, don't tell anyone else what you told me. I'm coming over, right now."

* * *

_February 26, 2012_

Emma took some medicine to combat the headache that had persisted since last night. As she expected, Henry got back to Regina's safe and sound, but he was doing his damndest not to see her. It was ridiculous. She was supposed to be the mom here. She was the one who was supposed to be mad.

And she was, but not just at him. He was a kid who spoke thoughtlessly, but she was the adult who was supposed to make sure that he knew that he was the center of her world. And she still fucked that up.

She had left soon after Henry ran out, so she hadn't even spoken to Killian. She honestly didn't know what to say, and so she ended up back at the loft where Mary Margaret had rearranged a lot of stuff to accommodate Copper. Emma had been surprised at first, but then she remembered a conversation she'd had with Mary Margaret about adopting a dog, and she'd felt so embarrassed about how she hadn't paid enough attention that she just went with it.

Dealing with Copper biting the legs of their chairs and couches would have to be something to deal with.

Emma felt something in her curl up uncomfortably thinking about how much she was screwing things up. She wasn't paying enough attention at home. Henry thought he didn't love her enough. And now there was an investigation into a strange death that Graham took over, and _fucking glowing hearts and_ -

The fax machine sounded, drawing Emma out of her reverie, and she shook her head over the fact that they still had fax machines as she stood up and walked over. She saw the heading of the paper coming through, and felt relieved that the hospital lab got back to her with the results of the box in the heart (the one that _wasn't_ glowing). Taking the paper, Emma scanned it, and was relieved to find that they had gotten a match off the fingerprints.

That relief disappeared like smoke in the wind when she saw the identification, drawn on from records connected to employment, had one name: Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"No." Emma whispered out as she looked at the paper over and over again. She then called the hospital lab, and when they confirmed that they ran the tests multiple times, Emma silently hung up the phone. A moment passed before she whispered out, "Fuuuuuck."

This wasn't possible. Mary Margaret? It couldn't be. Mary Margaret could barely bring herself to kill the spiders that made their way into the loft. Even when she did, she'd always felt bad about stomping on them.

 _I always feel like they just got lost, and then this giant comes along and kills them,_ Mary Margaret once told her.

Emma looked at the paper again, and felt something cold in her stomach and chest when she saw the results of the examination of the box and heart. Not only were Mary Margaret's fingerprints on the box, but the heart belonged to Kathryn. Apparently Kathryn's father had given the hospital some of her hair for examination from when she was a toddler, one of those clippings from when people were young.

Kathryn's murder was horrible enough, as now Emma knew that she had failed to find someone before it was too late. Now she would have to inform Kathryn's father that his only child was gone. Emma couldn't imagine what kind of pain she was about to force on Kathryn's father. If this was Henry…

Emma shook her head. She had to focus. Kathryn was dead, and now Mary Margaret was the prime suspect. She didn't want to arrest her friend, but she couldn't avoid it. If Regina found out that Emma did so, Emma would not only lose her job, but it would deal her a big hit in the custody battle.

"Okay, okay." Emma told herself as she began to pace around. "Once Graham comes back, we can talk. Yeah, yeah, we can-" Emma cut herself off, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do. Mary Margaret was going to need help, and the kind that Emma couldn't provide.

Emma took out her cellphone and made a call.

Ray picked up, "Morning Emma."

"Hi Ray." Emma said stiffly, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Ray, Mary Margaret really needs your help."

* * *

"Okay, bye." Ray said as he ended the phone call.

"Something come up?" Ruby asked as she came out of the bathroom, having only listened in to little snippets of the conversation.

"Yeah, a new case I think." Ray said before looking at her regretfully. "Sorry. Rain check on breakfast."

Ruby waved a hand in concession. "It's fine. Mind if I still take LJ?"

"You don't have to." Ray tried to say before she placed a finger on his lips, suppressing a grin at the way he seemed to flush at that.

"I'm good with that." Ruby said as she took her finger away. "I know you have to work, but keep in mind that you deserve to take a break sometimes."

Ray nodded with a little smile before he took her hand. "How are you feeling?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm...still a little in shock, but I'm doing better than I was last night."

"You did a great job." Ray reminded her.

"Yeah, but...I don't know if this is the job for me." Ruby admitted. "Is that bad?"

Ray leaned down to give her a little kiss before pulling back to say, "If you think it's the right move for you, then I say go for it."

Ruby smiled. "Anyone ever tell you that you're sweet."

"I try." Ray said oh-so-humbly.

Ruby rolled her eyes before kissing him on the cheek as LJ came out, dressed and ready for the day. Ray caught him up to what happened, and LJ was okay with going with Ruby to breakfast. He was also fine with Ruby stopping by at the library to check on Killian. Soon, Ruby and LJ got in her car, and drove away as Ray waved goodbye at them.

"Do you know what the phone call was about?" LJ asked Ruby on the way to the library.

Ruby shook her head. "Don't know. It must be important."

"Isn't it always?" LJ said, more a statement than a question.

Ruby caught the somewhat bitter tone in his voice. "Something up?"

"It's nothing." LJ denied.

"Listen, I'm the queen of saying something's nothing to avoid talking about something that's bothering me." Ruby replied. "I did it all the time with my grandmother." When LJ said nothing, Ruby awkwardly added, "Look, you don't have to tell me, but-"

"Do you think he works too much?" LJ asked. "My uncle, I mean."

Ooph. That was kind of a loaded question.

LJ went ahead and said, "I'm not complaining...much. It's just that he works like all the time. And I know it's supposed to pay the bills, but he just...I don't know. It's dumb."

Ruby wasn't sure what to say without risking crossing a line. Her relationship with Ray was still new, and she didn't want to say something that could upset him or LJ.

LJ, likely sensing the awkward silence, tried to end it by saying, "Sorry. I just don't really know what to do."

"That's not really your job." Ruby couldn't help but say. "I mean, you're his nephew. Your job is to go to school and get your own stuff done. From what Ray's said, you're pretty good at it."

"Really?" LJ asked, more intrigued now that sullen.

"Oh yeah." Ruby told him as they neared the library. "He talks about you like all the time. He's really proud of you."

"He is?" LJ asked, this time with a little smile on his face.

Ruby couldn't help but smile back as she parked in front of the library. "Totally. Ah, here we are. You want to come inside?"

"I'm good." LJ said. "You mind if I wait here."

"No problem." Ruby said as she took out the keys and handed them to him. "Turn it on if it gets cold, and don't take it for a joy ride."

"I wouldn't know how even if I wanted to." LJ shrugged.

Normally, Ruby would never hand her keys over to a kid, but from what she'd heard of him from Ray and other people, and from she'd seen herself, he seemed like a decent kid.

If not, well, she knew where he lived.

"I'll be back soon." Ruby said as she got out of the car and went inside the library. "Hello? Killian?"

"Hi, Ruby." Killian said as he and the girls (plus Lady on a leash) walked down the stairs that led up to their apartment.

Something seemed a little off about Killian and the girls. Killian looked tense and upset, Mai was holding onto his hand tightly with a little pout on her face, and Phoebe looked like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night.

"Hey." Ruby started cautiously. "I just wanted to say hi, and thanks for, you know, letting me have my freakout. Plus I wanted to thank Dada for looking after LJ."

"It's no problem, lass." Killian replied. "Me and the girls were just about the head over to Granny's."

"Oh cool." Ruby said. "LJ's in the my car and we were about to go over too. It's a short drive, but hey I can give you a lift if you want. Plus it'll help me face Granny if I have a mini crowd with me."

Killian paused for a moment before agreeing. Soon the girls and Lady were loaded into the car with LJ, but for some reason Killian seemed hesitant to enter.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked him as they stood on the sidewalk outside of the car.

"What do you mean?" Killian asked her.

"You just seem kind of tense." Ruby told him, mindful to keep her voice down just in case the kids would overhear.

"It's nothing." Killian told her. "Just some things I have to deal with."

"Want to talk about it?" Ruby offered.

Killian sighed. "Henry...made a certain comment that hurt Mai's feelings, and now she feels like she did something wrong. Also, Phoebe has been trying to distance herself, and there are other things like rent and Kathryn's disappearance and...it's just a lot going on."

Ruby sent him a sympathetic look. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm happy to help if you need anything. And from what I can see, you're doing a good job at keeping things together."

"Thanks, Ruby." Killian told her. He then looked at her more curiously before he asked, "What are you going to do about Granny?"

"I...don't know." Ruby replied. "It's definitely going to be awkward."

"Probably." Killian chuckled. "Mind if I give you a little advice."

"Oh no." Ruby joked before saying, "Sure."

Killian smiled at her a little before it slowly dissipated. "I can't claim I'm an expert but how your family works, but the thing is...you don't really know how long you'll have them around. I would've thought that I'd get to grow old with my brother, but that wasn't how things turned out. What I'm trying to say is that...whatever problems you and Granny have, you should try to work them out as best you can without compromising what you want, you know?"

Ruby had heard a little about Killian's brother, about how he'd died young, and while Killian did a good job at hiding most of the pain, there was still enough there in his eyes to show that this was painful for him to talk about.

And so, Ruby nodded and said, "I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Killian."

"It's no trouble at all." Killian reassured her. "Now come on. I'm starving, and from the hungry looks on their faces, they are too."

Ruby looked over, and saw the near ravenous expressions on three kids faces staring back at her.

Ruby didn't need to be told twice.

Soon enough, they were at Granny's, though they had to leave a whining Lady in the car. So long as she didn't do her business in there and remained warm, Ruby was alright with that.

They entered the diner, where LJ immediately greeted her grandmother. "Good morning, Mrs. Luc- Granny." LJ amended that when he saw the look on Granny's face.

"Good morning, LJ." Granny replied. She gave out similar greetings to the others as they took a seat in the booth. When she saw Ruby and her new, more conservative outfit, she paused before saying, "You look good."

"Thanks." Ruby said as she hung up her jacket, catching the encouraging look on Killian's face as he took his seat.

"Want something for the sheriff and the deputy?" Granny asked her as Ruby approached the counter.

"No." Ruby replied.

"So, are you here to tell me more about your fine new job over breakfast?" Granny asked a little warily.

Ruby took in a deep, quiet breath to steady herself. "I want to come back."

Granny looked at her in surprise. "Why? You were pretty mad."

 _Ah,_ Ruby thought. _Always with the tough front._

"I wasn't mad." Ruby told her.

"It looked like mad from here." Granny replied.

"Yeah, but, uh, here's the thing…" Ruby trailed off, overcoming her awkwardness because she knew this was important. "You were talking about having me do all this stuff, and I wasn't sure. I-I said you wanted me to turn into you, but...what I meant was...I don't know _how_ to be you. You're a tough act to follow."

Granny seemed a little stunned by her words. "Oh."

Seeing that as an opening Ruby added, "And then you wanted me to take on all this extra responsibility, and I...guess I just got...scared."

"Don't be." Granny told her. "You shouldn't be."

"Well, I am, but it's okay." Ruby said self-confidently. "I can do it anyway. I sort of found someone in myself that was more than I expected."

"What about adventure?" Granny asked. "What about lemurs?"

"Emma was my lemur." Ruby told her, pressing down the cold feeling she got as she thought about the heart she found. "Done that. Found out that I could do that, and also that I don't want to. I don't want a job where a good day means ruining someone's life. I wanna do something that makes me happy." Ruby then looked down at the counter and ran her hand over the countertop lovingly. "Somewhere I love."

Granny swallowed a lump in her throat. "Look...just so you know, I wanted you to do the books and everything so you could take over when I retire, own the whole place."

Ruby stared at Granny in surprised as she nearly stammered out, "Own it?"

"Sure." Granny said assuredly. "I mean, who else would I give it to but someone who loves me back?"

 _I do love you_ , Ruby immediately thought warmly as she looked at her grandmother. She then impulsively hugged Granny, who held her back, and Ruby felt as safe in her warm arms as she did as a kid whenever something scared her. Granny would tell her to be tough, that she could handle it, but she would also always have a hug ready when Ruby really needed it.

When Ruby pulled back, Granny asked her, "Now, tell me something...did Raymond Fitzroy treat you right?"

Ruby scoffed, "Granny." She then looked at her stern grandmother and said, "Yes. He was an absolute gentleman. He took the couch so that I could have the bed."

"Well, that was...decent of him." Granny said as she stepped back. She then added, "And you were wrong before, by the way. It's not that I dislike him. I think he's a decent man who's raising a good boy. It's just that...I can't remember the last time you've been this interested in someone."

"What, really?" Ruby asked, denial in her voice despite the fact that her cheeks began to flush and her heartbeat sped up a little, not helped by the fact that Granny sent her a knowing look.

"I'm proud of you." Granny said as she began to walk to the back.

"What was that?" Ruby asked teasingly.

"You heard me." Granny said, causing Ruby to roll her eyes.

She was still hungry, but she figured now was as good a time as any to get some work done.

"So," Ruby said as she followed Granny, "what do we do now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the adults and kids are now on the same page with the hearts, Ruby's back at Granny's, Henry's jelly, Mai's hurt, Phoebe feels guilty, and things are only going to get more complicated from here :D
> 
> At least Mary Margaret adopted Copper...right before she about to get arrested. This woman can't catch a break, huh? ;)
> 
> What did you think? Let me know in the box down below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	26. Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, everyone is reeling from the discovery of Kathryn's heart, emotional tensions run high, there's a lack of communication, and some major decisions are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing of the show.
> 
> Another Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or someone with professional experience in law. I only know what Google and a single college course in Law I taught me.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left a kudo or comment. 
> 
> Special thanks as always to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 26, 2012_

Emma looked at the clock on the wall, anxiously tapping her fingers against the top of her desk waiting for Ray to get there. They needed to go over how to help Mary Margaret, preferably before Regina somehow learned about the fingerprints. Knowing her, she probably had someone working for her in the hospital, so time wasn't something they had an abundance of.

 _Please just let me get one thing right,_ Emma thought to herself. Graham still wasn't back yet, and not for the first time Emma was wondering what the hell was taking him so long. Why hadn't this Bill guy called back yet? Where the hell was Graham?

Someone walked into the bullpen, and while it wasn't Graham, Emma couldn't help but feel a little relieved that it was Killian.

"Hey." Emma said as she stood up, feeling awkward after remembering the tension between the kids last night.

Killian too appeared to be awkward, shoving his hand in his pocket instead of reaching out to her. "I dropped the girls off with the nuns earlier, and...I think we need to talk about last night."

Emma felt some guilt swell up inside her, and although she knew Henry was in the wrong, she still felt compelled to defend him. "Killian, I know Henry was wrong in snapping at Mai, but-"

"But nothing." He interrupted with a clenched jaw. "He's older than her, he should know better."

"And I told him that." Emma said a little defensively. "He's a kid, and I'll make him apologize."

"Then where is he?" Killian asked. "You know, Mai would've appreciated an apology last night, but neither Henry or you were anywhere to be found."

Emma, upon hearing this accusation against Henry, impulsively snapped. "He wasn't there last night, because I'm a horrible mother!"

Her words sounded angry, but once the brief flash of anger disappeared, all she was left with was guilt.

Killian was clearly stunned, but that barely registered to Emma. She was on a roll.

"Do you know what he told me last night?" Emma asked with an empty, sardonic smile. "He said that he doesn't think I love him enough or pay enough attention to him , because he thinks I like Mai more. Yeah, he actually said that he didn't think he was cute or young enough. I mean, I thought I was doing a good job like that...fuck I thought about that all the time whenever a little kid got adopted and I got older, and now my own kid feels like that. Mai's a good kid, but Henry's my son, and he feels like that because I suck at this." Emma sniffed, trying not to cry. "He's been neglected his whole life and then he finds out he's adopted and wonders why I gave him up. Then Mai starts asking him if we'd get married and I'd be her mommy, and it upset him, because he just wants someone to love him. Okay? Yes, Henry screwed up, and he knows that, and I know that, but there are deeper issues here." Emma choked up as she finished up, "And now he feels like he's got no mom to love him because I'm not good enough."

Emma looked away from Killian, placing her hands on her hips as she tried hard not to let herself completely collapse. She already felt like she had pushed her limits by saying this much, but she couldn't help it. The tiniest part of her felt relieved at getting this out, but it was overrun by the feelings of guilt and worthlessness that consumed her mind.

A few long moments passed before Killian told Emma, "You are good enough."

Emma scoffed, wincing at how close it sounded to a sob.

"You are." Killian insisted. "You're a wonderful mother. You changed your entire life for him, moving and taking a new job, just to make sure that he was okay. Emma, he's the center of your world. That doesn't make you a bad mother at all."

"Henry doesn't think so." Emma still couldn't look at Killian, lest the dam break. "He feels like I've neglected him too."

"Henry is a young lad going through a lot right now." Killian told her. "Look, I've known Henry for his entire life. I've seen how much Regina neglected him, and I hate that I did nothing earlier. You were the first one to truly fight for him. If my over-a-month of experience as a parent has taught me anything, it's that it's far from the easiest thing in the world, but you're still doing your best by him." b"You are an amazing woman, Emma, and yes you make mistakes, but I'm not going to let you think that you're a bad mother when you are one of the best mothers I've ever met."

Emma scoffed despite how much she wanted to believe him.

"Emma, look at me." Killian said, and when she wouldn't, he stepped every so slightly into her view before he reiterated. "Look at me."

Gritting her teeth together to keep her emotions at bay, she finally met his eyes.

He then asked her, "Have I ever lied to you? Have I ever told you something just because I thought you wanted to hear it?"

Emma paused before shaking his head. She didn't even try to bring up his deal with the guys about spying on Regina, because he only did that to help her.

"So when I saw that I think you're a good mother, do you think I'm lying just to spare your feelings?"

"No." Emma said quietly.

Killian didn't say anything then. He merely looked at her silently, waiting for a reply.

Eventually, she gave him one. "I'm sorry about what Henry said. I'll talk to him again, and get him to apologize."

Killian nodded. "I'm sorry too. Listen-"

Just then, the doors to the bullpen opened, and in walked Ray.

"Sorry I'm late." Ray announced as she walked in, suitcase in had. "I had to make a quick run somewhere. Have you-" Just then he noticed Killian, and looked between him and Emma, clearly wondering what Killian knew.

"Is this about the hearts?" Killian asked them.

"No." Emma said. "It's actually about...about Kathryn's murder."

"Oh god, it was Kathryn's heart." Killian breathed out.

"Yeah." Emma replied before telling Killian, "You should get going. Things are about to go batshit, and I'd feel better if you weren't involved."

"You mean more batshit than lately?" Killian questioned incredulously.

Emma said, "Killian, please, just listen to me. Go home. Get to your girls. Please."

Killian looked like he wanted to argue, but in the end he simply nodded. He then silently reached out to briefly squeeze her hand before letting it go, leaving soon after without another word.

Part of Emma wanted to go after Killian, to make things right, but she had something important to do. She had to do what she could to protect Mary Margaret. Hopefully she could hold off the interrogation until Graham got there.

Ray, with a serious look on his face, told Emma, "It's time we get to work."

* * *

 _This can't be happening,_ Mary Margaret thought before she flinched at the bright light of the flash bulb. One minute she'd been taking Copper to the veterinarian for some sort of shot, with David who happened to be there, the next she had to leave David with Copper because she was being arrested for _murder_.

"Please turn to the right." Emma instructed gently as she prepared the camera for Mary Margaret's next mugshot.

Even as she did so, Mary Margaret said, "Emma, this is a mistake. I didn't kill Kathryn."

"Mary Margaret, as your lawyer, I'm advising you to restrain from commenting further." Ray told her as Emma finished up the mug shot.

"Even though I believe you." Emma said. "I'm your friend, but I'm also the deputy, and I have to go where the evidence leads."

"Which points to _me_?" Mary Margaret questioned, feeling disgusted by the implication. "I didn't...cut out Kathryn's heart and bury it in the woods." Mary Margaret's heart broke for Kathryn. Sure they weren't close, and she never suspected they would, but no one deserved that. She especially felt horrible for Kathryn's father, and she wondered if he was informed yet. Oh, the poor man.

Emma replied, "If I don't book you, with all this evidence, it's gonna look like favoritism. And then Regina will have cause and she will fire me, and then you know what she'll do? She'll bring in someone who _will_ railroad you, even if Graham somehow manages to remain on the force. So please, just try to be patient and trust me."

"Where is Graham, by the way?" Mary Margaret asked as Emma filed the photos she took of her.

"I have no idea." Emma said, sounding slightly aggravated.

Mary Margaret didn't know what could be keeping Graham. Did something happen with Declan? If so, why wouldn't Graham tell Emma? That would be reasonable enough, right?

"Sorry I'm late." Graham said as he rushed into the station.

Speaking of which.

"Where the hell have you been?" Emma shot back with an incredulous look.

"I was-" Graham started before he noticed Mary Margaret there. He then took a moment to calm down and said, "I had to look over some business at the hospital."

Emma got a knowing look and started to say, "With Bi-"

"With a bill, yes." Graham told her with a significant look, and Mary Margaret got the feeling that she was missing something important.

At least, Graham turned to Mary Margaret and said, "Listen, it's all going to be alright. We just need to-"

Just then the doors of the bullpen opened again, and to Mary Margaret's great disappointment, Regina stepped in.

"Ah, I see everyone's assembled without me." Regina said as she strode into the bullpen with a closed folder in her hand. She then sent Mary Margaret a look that, while not overtly hostile, sent a chill throughout her body. "Kathryn's father called me about the terrible news, and I learned that Mary Margaret was a suspect."

"Of course you did." Emma muttered quietly under her breath.

Regina didn't seem to hear it, and said, "Well, I think it's time we get the truth."

* * *

"Just remember to let me do the talking when I signal you." Ray whispered to Mary Margaret just as they entered the interrogation room.

Ray warily watched Regina as they all piled into the interrogation room.

 _Keeping us honest, my ass,_ Ray thought to himself as he and Mary Margaret sat on one side of the table, while Emma and Graham sat on the other side. With no seats remaining, a somewhat put off Regina was forced to stand.

"You certainly got here in a speedy manner, Mr. Fitzroy." Regina said while sending a suspicious glance Emma's way.

"I aim for proficiency." Ray replied with an equally fake smile.

"I must say, I am a bit surprised to see you here, Mr. Fitzroy." Regina said with faux surprise. She then looked at Mary Margaret as she said, "Typically innocent people don't need lawyers."

 _So that's how it's going to be,_ Ray thought. "If the world were perfect, that'd be the case, but I'd like to think that innocent people could always use every benefit the justice system has to offer. Don't you think, Madame Mayor?"

"How about we begin?" Graham suggested, though his tone made it clear that they should all listen to him. He signaled to Emma, who turned on the recording device.

"Please state your name and oc- and occupation." Graham said with a slight wince. Ray knew that it was standard procedure, to get the basic information out of the way, but given how they all knew the answer it was still hard to listen to.

Mary Margaret gave the tiniest flinch as she said, "Mary Margaret Blanchard. I am- I _was_ the fifth grade teacher at the elementary school in Storybrooke."

Ray practiced some self control when, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Regina smirk, though her face was fairly expressionless by the time he looked at her.

Emma stated, "The heart we recovered, which the hospital lab confirmed is Kathryn Atonis', was found buried near the old toll bridge. It had been cut out by what appears to be a hunting knife. Have you ever been to that bridge before?"

"Yes." Mary Margaret answered. "The night David woke up from his coma and wandered into the woods, a few of us tracked him to the bridge. He was unconscious, and I gave him CPR."

"Do you mean David Nolan?" Graham asked for clarification.

"Yes." Mary Margaret replied.

"Did you ever go to the bridge at any other point?" Graham asked her.

Mary Margaret answered, "Not that I can think of."

Emma then got up to open a nearby cabinet, and soon she pulled out the box where Ray and Ruby had found Kathryn's heart. Even not it sent a shiver up his spine.

"Have you ever seen this before?" Emma asked as she placed the box in front of Mary Margaret.

"Yes, that's my jewelry box." Mary Margaret answered, clearly confused by how they got it.

 _Still doesn't sound good,_ Ray thought, knowing the implication could be that Mary Margaret was a sloppy murderer who used her own jewelry box to hide the heart.

"That's where we found the heart in." Emma said unhappily.

Mary Margaret frantically stated, "Don't you see what's happening here? Someone stole that box and put the heart in it. I didn't have anything to do with it. I'm innocent."

"You have to admit, it's a bit too coincidental." Regina said. "I mean, you only now notice your jewelry box missing, you've yet to provide an alibi for Kathryn's disappearance, and you were about to lose David all over again."

 _What is she talking about?,_ Ray thought to herself. Judging by the looks on the others faces, they were confused as well, but Regina seemed a little too sure of herself for it to be a bluff.

"I was-" Mary Margaret started, but upon realizing that her alibi would've been shaky, continued in a less assured tone said, "I was home alone, I think, at least until Emma came home. Still, I didn't lose David. I mean, we're just friends."

"Ah." Regina said, and Ray didn't like the way she seemed subtly eager to place the folder down on the table. "Someone placed this on my doorstep before I left my home today, and I felt it necessary to bring it to your attention." Regina then opened the folder, and soon showed photos of David and Kathryn drinking at a bar, David and Kathryn entering her house, and then David leaving the house.

Ray looked at the time stamp, and realized that hours had passed between David entering the house and David leaving the house.

 _What?,_ Ray thought. _Why didn't David say anything?_

Looking at Mary Margaret, Ray could see that she was clearly hurt and surprised by the photos.

Regina, in a sympathetic tone, said, "I know it couldn't have been easy, thinking that you would be able to be with David, only for him to go back to Kathryn."

"I didn't know." Mary Margaret said as she stared at the photos, clearly coming to a pretty horrible conclusion.

"Well, you're friends with David." Regina said in a faux curious tone. "Yet you don't know how he spends his time?"

"Can I speak to you in the hallway, please?" Emma asked tersely, standing up and walking over to the door, opening it with an expression that clearly left little room for argument.

Only when Emma closed the door, and her and Regina's footsteps led them down the hallway, did Mary Margaret clear her throat with an upset look on her face.

She looked at Graham and insisted, "I didn't do this. I swear I didn't."

"We're just trying to figure this out." Graham told her calmly, though it was clear that he part of him was uncomfortable with this.

Ray looked at Mary Margaret again, and he knew that she was clearly hurt by the implication. It didn't make any sense. Why would David sleep with Kathryn since he quite ready for a divorce? Did they even sleep together?

Ray tried to comfort her by saying, "Either way, those pictures prove nothing."

"Ray." Mary Margaret nearly scoffed.

"I mean it." Ray told her with a meaningful look. "For all we know, they simply decided to sober up at her house. That's it."

Mary Margaret started, "But-"

"And we can always ask David to confirm or deny it." Ray continued firmly before looking at Graham. "Either way, nothing about this implicates my client in Kathryn's murder. For all we know, someone _did_ break in into the loft to frame her, likely in an attempt to use...whatever this is to their advantage."

It would certainly be a trial to defend that against a judge or jury, but if they managed to find the murder weapon with someone else's fingerprints that would help.

Eventually, Emma and Regina came back in, but as no one had anymore questions, Mary Margaret was soon escorted back to her cell, and Ray was left wondering what kind of uphill battle he was gearing up for.

* * *

 _There's got to be something I can use here,_ Emma thought as she helped opened the door of the loft, looking for signs of a break-in.

"There don't seem to be signs break-in if the lack of damage is anything to go by." Graham remarked before he looked at the frame of the door. "Not here either."

"It could've been the windows." Emma suggested before going over there, she and Graham checking out each window, and sadly they all looked undamaged as well.

"Did you find something?" Henry's voice asked, and Emma whirled around to see her kid standing in the loft, having gotten in thanks to the open door.

"Henry, hi." Emma said as she approached him, still a little wary of making things worse given what happened last night.

"Hi." Henry replied in a distant tone, a clear sign that the tension was still real on his side of things. Then, he continued in that same tone, "I heard about what happened with Mary Margaret. We have to help her."

"We are helping her." Emma reassured him. "But you shouldn't be here. It's a police investigation."

"I'm not leaving." Henry said stubbornly.

"Henry." Emma sighed.

"Henry." Graham stepped up. "Your mother's right. If people find out you were here, it might hurt Mary Margaret's case."

"How come?" Henry questioned, though this time a little more concerned.

Emma answered, "Because if we find anything that proves that Mary Margaret's innocent, the prosecution can argue that because you're here, the evidence wasn't secured, which means that we could've tampered with it."

"Oh." Henry said quietly.

"I know it sucks-" Emma started, stepping forward to comfort him, only to feel something stab in her chest when Henry took a step back. "Henry."

"I guess I don't have to be here." Henry muttered before he ran off.

Emma wanted to run after him, biting her lip in uncertainty, torn between needing to mend things with her son and finding anything that could help prove her best friend wasn't a murderer.

"Go after him." Graham urged Emma. "Just make sure you come back."

Emma sent him a grateful nod before racing after Henry. It didn't take long, however, as she soon found him sitting on the stairs. His arms were wrapped around his shins, and he was hiding his face in his knees.

"Henry, what is it?" Emma asked as she sat next to him, ignoring the hurt she felt when he shifted away from her touch. "Henry."

"Go away." Henry muttered, and she heard the way his voice wobbled like he was holding back tears.

"Henry, please, talk to me." Emma pleaded, shifted closer to him without touching him. She couldn't let this continue. She couldn't let her baby keep suffering like this. "Henry, I want you to listen to me. I am not going to leave you because Mai's around. Mai isn't my kid, you are."

"She thinks she is!" Henry shot back as he finally lifted his head to look at her with reddened eyes. "S-She's pretty much ready to start calling you 'Mommy', and then you'll forget about me." Henry then seemed to get more upset when he said, "And then if you and Killian get married, then you'll have Mai and Phoebe and Lady, then you won't care if I'm left with Regina when you break the curse."

Emma's nearly reared back in shock. "Henry, is...is that what you think? You think that I'd just... _forget_ you?"

Henry didn't look at her as he nodded. "Everyone forgets me. It's because of the curse, b-but…everyone does eventually."

Henry then gave out a little sob, his body shaking as he tried to hold in more, and with that went the last bit of resolve Emma had before she pulled him into her arms. At first he tried to pull away, but soon he wrapped his arms around her and started crying as she rubbed his back.

"I-I-" Henry started before more sobs followed.

"It's okay, Henry." Emma said, trying to control herself so as not to upset him further.

"I just…" Henry cried. "I just don't want you to forget me too."

Emma held him tighter. "I won't _ever_ forget you. You're _my_ son, and I promise that I'll never let you go, okay?"

"You promise?" Henry asked vulnerably.

"Absolutely." Emma said as she gently brushed his hair with her hands. Then, because she felt like he really needed some honesty, she told him, "Since the day you were born, I never stopped thinking about you."

"Really?" Henry asked her quietly as he pulled back to look at her.

"Mhmm." Emma told him, cupping his face in her hands, gently wiping at his tears with her thumbs. "Okay? You're the most important person in my life, and I'm sorry if I made you feel any differently."

Henry gave her a tentative smile.

"Emma." Graham said, startling both Henry and Emma. "Sorry, but we have to…"

"I know." Emma said. She then turned to Henry and asked, "Do you think you can hang out with one of your friends? I think they're hanging out around Granny's today."

"Okay." Henry said before hugging Emma. "I'll see you later?"

"Definitely." Emma said as they got up. "Be careful."

"No promises." Henry joked, though at Emma's glare he amended, "I promise."

Emma smiled as she waved at him, watching him disappear down the stairs.

Then, turning to Graham with a more serious look, Emma knew it was time to get back to work.

Walking back into the loft, Emma asked, "You find anything? Any broken glass or muddy footprints?"

"Sadly, the loft's immaculate. No signs of any sort of damage." Graham replied as they continued to look around. "You think Mary Margaret might be right? That someone could be setting her up?"

"If they are, it could go either way." Emma said. "On one hand, the supposed girlfriend of a somewhat married man getting rid of the wife could make a good story, especially with those photos. On the other hand, David was close to finishing the divorce, so there wouldn't be much motive of Mary Margaret could wait that long."

"But who'd do something like that?" Graham asked before pausing. "You think...you think Regina might have?"

"Honestly?" Emma grimaced. "After finding those hearts and seeing how she treats people, I wouldn't put anything past her at this point. Not to mention, she does seem to have it out for Mary Margaret. Any idea why?"

It was a good thing they managed to go back and put everything back the way they found it, especially with closing that coffin back over the secret stairwell. The last thing they needed was Regina knowing they were there. Hell, it was lucky they had the presence of mind of going back to do so given how deep in shock they all were.

Graham shook his head. "Regina's just...always held this anger towards Mary Margaret, but hell if I could tell you what it means."

Emma sighed.

Graham got this weird look on his face. "Listen, Emma, there's something I-"

Just as he was saying this, Emma sat down on her bed, and froze when she heard something rumbling.

"What was that?" Graham asked, apparently forgetting what he was going to say.

The two of them realized that the sound came from the vent, and went over to investigate it.

Examining the vent more closely, Emma removed the opening and found that there was something wrapped in a cloth.

"Gloves." Graham reminded her, and they both put theirs on.

Once her gloves were secure, Emma reached in and grabbed the object. Carefully unwrapping it, Emma found a small hunting knife.

This...this was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

Henry sat at the counter of Granny's, moving his spoon around in his mug of hot cocoa with cinnamon.

He felt a little better now after talking to his mom. Even if a little part of him thought she might forget about him, a bigger part was now more assured. Emma didn't lie, right? Besides, he didn't sense that she was lying. He may not be a living lie detector like she was, but he could tell that she was being honest.

He was just a little bummed that Mary Margaret was framed for murder. He knew his- he knew that _Regina_ had something to do with it. He felt sorry for Kathryn, _Abigail,_ for having gotten killed, and now he was worried that Mary Margaret would be blamed for a crime she didn't commit.

Once the others got there, maybe they could figure something out, but still…

"I don't think that hot chocolate it's gonna drink itself." August said as he suddenly appeared, sitting next to Henry at the counter. "You're upset about your teacher, aren't you?"

"She didn't do it." Henry insisted. "Why can't anyone see that?"

August replied, "Because most people just see what's right in front of them. I don't think you gonna find the answers you want at the bottom of that mug."

Henry said, "My friends are coming over soon. We'll figure something out." Where were they? They were supposed to be hanging out here, right?

An irrational part of him feared that they forgot him too.

"Hey, didn't you have a book a while ago?" August asked curiously.

"Yeah, but someone took it." Henry said before sending August a suspicious look. "Know anything about that?"

August sent him a smirk.

Henry began to open his mouth.

"Easy there." August said. "I'm sure your book will find its way back to you, but what I want to know is how much you remember of its stories."

"Why would that help?" Henry asked, his suspicious growing. "They're just stories."

"I think we both know that's not true." August said before Ruby came along. He simply ordered a glass of water, which Ruby gave him before going to attend to another customer.

"What do you know about my stories?" Henry asked. "Are they why you came to town? Is that why you stayed?"

August paused before saying, "Because we both know they're real."

Henry nearly fell out of his seat in shock. Once he regained his balance, he leaned closer to August. "You think my book is real?"

August leaned forward as well. "As real as I am."

"How do you know?" Henry asked him, wanting to know if he knew about the hearts too.

"Let's just say that I'm a believer." August replied. "And I wanna help others see the light. That, my friend, is why I'm here."

"But I already believe." Henry told him.

"Oh, I'm not here for you, buddy." August said conspiratorially. "I'm here for Emma."

Realization hit Henry. "So you know who she is, who she _really_ is. Wait, but how? Did you come from the Enchanted Forest? Did you-"

"There are some people - like you and me - we can go on faith." August interrupted. "But others - like Emma - they need proof."

"I found proof." Henry told August. "And Emma's seen it, but I still think she's having trouble believing."

"What kind of proof?" August asked curiously, clearly surprised by this information.

Henry was about ready to say what it was before stopping himself. "No." Henry said before leaning back. "First, you tell me why you know what you know."

August tried to play off his hesitation by giving a nonchalant, "Aw, come on, tell me."

"No." Henry denied him. "I'm not about to tell you something super secret for nothing."

August paused for a moment before muttering, "You're more like him than I thought."

"Like who?" Henry asked curiously.

"No one." August lied, and badly too. "On second thought..."

"On second thought what?" Henry asked, now wondering why August had this weirdly guilty look on his face.

"Henry, you here?" Declan's voice asked as he and the others piled into the diner.

"Looks like the gang's here." August said he got up. "Good luck."

"Hey, wait." Henry protested, but soon August left the diner without a glance back.

Declan, who had been eying August the entire time, asked Henry once he was near enough, "What was that all about?"

"I'm not sure." Henry said as he watched August leave the diner.

"Did you hear about what happened to Mary Margaret?" LJ asked as they all took seats at the counter.

"It's awful." Paige commented. "I can't believe they think she killed Kathryn."

"You don't think she did it?" Henry asked before he was bombarded by the group giving him of answers ranging from 'Of course not' to 'Are you serious?'. "Okay, okay, I get it. I don't think she did it either. I think someone's framing her."

"You think it might be your-" Nick started before whispering, "The mayor?"

"I think so." Henry said.

"Why?" Ava asked.

"Becau-" LJ started before someone passed by a little too close for comfort. "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else."

"Agreed." Henry said before looking at his still half-full hot cocoa. "Um, after I finished my drink?"

The others mumbled their agreement.

"Either way," LJ said. "We would need proof."

"And how would we get proof?" Declan asked.

"We would have to be careful." Henry said, remembering Emma's words from before. "If we messed something up, then something we found that could prove Mary Margaret is innocent could be, what's the word…"

"Tainted?" LJ suggested.

"That's it." Henry said. He hated the idea of doing nothing though. To the others - mostly, because it still looked like they were wrapping their heads around the magic thing - Mary Margaret was an innocent woman. To Henry, that was not only Snow White, but his grandmother, and he wouldn't let Regina take her away from his mom. There had to be something they could do.

Maybe...maybe they could just peek around, and then report back. But where to start? And how to do so without endangering themselves.

"Henry." LJ said with a warning tone and a wary expression. "I could be wrong, but you've got that look on your face that tells me things are gonna suck".

Henry pursed his lips before saying, "I'll explain once I finished my drink. Then we've got some work to do."

* * *

Killian watched Phoebe push Mai on the swings, the little one absolutely gleeful as she got higher and higher in the air, a sharp contrast to the morose look on Phoebe's face. Killian was getting worried. Phoebe was losing more and more sleep, but she was tight lipped about what was bothering her. Oh, she said it was school and such, and lately her grades had been slipping, but he knew it was something else. This mood she'd been in had set in long before her grades started going by the wayside, but he didn't know how to get her to open up.

The last time he saw something like that was when Declan had begun to withdraw from people, and nearly died as a result.

"Sister." Killian started, looking over at Sister Astrid from her seat on the bench next to him. "Has Phoebe said anything to you that was...concerning?"

Sister Astrid looked away from the girls to him. "Um, no I don't believe so. Still, she doesn't look good, does she?"

"That's what I was thinking." Killian replied. "Her grades have started to slip, and she's started pulling away more and more, but she won't say what's bothering her."

"Maybe someone's bothering her at her school." Sister Astrid suggested.

"It could be." Killian said, feeling protective and worried at the prospect that someone was hurting Phoebe somehow. "I just don't know how to get her to open up."

"I can try talking to her again." Sister Astrid suggested.

Killian shook his head. "I'll worry about that. You just focus on paying rent to that bastard Gold."

"Don't you know it's unholy to swear in front of a nun?" Leroy asked as she suddenly appeared.

"Leroy, hi." Sister Astrid greeted with a warm smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I, uh, just thought about taking a walk." Leroy said. "I happened to be around, then I saw you two chatting it up and decided to come over.

 _More like you saw Sister Astrid and wanted to talk to her,_ Killian thought, remembering what Phoebe had said about Leroy and Sister Astrid.

"You hear about what happened with Mary Margaret?" Leroy asked, looking grimmer than usual.

Killian and Sister Astrid nodded. He couldn't believe it. Mary Margaret of all people was a murderer? No, it was impossible. Besides, why would she want to kill Kathryn? Even if you subscribed to the theory that it was because of David, it didn't make sense. David and Kathryn were divorcing, so murdering her would serve no purpose.

Besides that, Mary Margaret was simply too gentle a person to ever hurt someone, let alone kill them and cut their heart out.

Killian honestly wouldn't have put it past Regina to do it, given her apparent hobby of collecting hearts, but he couldn't very well share that theory now could he?

"I think she did it." Someone nearby said. Killian turned his head, and found a pair of women sitting on the bench, looking at children Killian assumed were theirs.

"Oh, absolutely." The other woman said as more parents gathered around. "I mean, it wasn't enough that she tried to steal Kathryn's husband-"

"You don't know that she did it." Killian said, defensive on Mary Margaret's behalf.

"Isn't it obvious?" Another parent suggested. "I mean, who else would want Kathryn dead?"

"Oh come on." Leroy of all people scoffed. "You think a kindly little schoolteacher is going to cut out someone's heart?"

"But she's not a teacher anymore." Someone pointed out. "She was fired wasn't she?"

"For child abuse." One of the original women pointed out.

"I thought that was only accused." Sister Astrid said.

"If she was accused, then there must be something there." The second woman said haughtily.

"Like how if a used condom and a pregnancy test are found in the trash, there must be something there?" Phoebe suddenly asked, surprising the adults who were caught off guard by Phoebe and Mai's presence.

Mai immediately went to Killian's side, ignoring the looks of everyone, asking him if they could see Lady, who was with Dada at the library.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked with a wary expression.

Phoebe, tired looking and seemingly angry, was only getting started. "You heard me. I wonder what your husband would think if there was a pregnancy test, but for some reason he doesn't know about it."

"Phoebe?" Sister Astrid asked as Killian sat there wondering what the hell she was doing.

Phoebe then turned to one of the men. "Your wife's been in the hospital for awhile right? So why is it that there were a bunch of used condoms in your garbage?"

"What the hell?" The man asked embarrassed.

"I don't know why you're looking at him like that." Phoebe said pointedly to another man with a disgusted look on her face. "You've been throwing away some pretty important notices for your neighbor, isn't that right?"

"Phoebe." Killian warned as he got up, grabbing Mai's hand as he began to pull Phoebe away.

Oh but Phoebe wouldn't be silenced. "You all act like you've never done anything wrong." She said with increasing frustration, her voice nearly choking up as she continued her onslaught. "You all act like you're so innocent and good and look down on Mary Margaret, but you've all got things you want to hide. You're all shitty people and none of you deserve anything!"

"Phoebe!" Killian said warningly before he managed to pull her away from the shocked crowd. Once they had escaped from the sight of the crowd, he made Phoebe stand in front of him. "What in the hell was that?"

"Didn't you hear them?" Phoebe asked, suddenly near tears. "They were all just acting like they'd never done anything wrong, and Mary Margaret is too nice and they just pick on her and-" Phoebe cut herself off after having whipped herself into a frenzy.

"I understand that, but when you talk to people, you don't swear at them or accuse them of things you can't prove." Killian told her, briefly looking down at Mai who looked upset at the fight.

"Maybe I can prove it." Phoebe retorted, though she looked more stressed than proud. "Maybe I saw things, gross things, that would prove that they're horrible people who shouldn't act like they're good people." Phoebe seemed to get more and more upset with tears pricking her eyes. "M-Maybe people aren't good, or at least some of us aren't. Maybe they're liars who use people they u-use to people they love and-"

"Phoebe." Killian started, seeing how she looked ready to dissolve into tears, when Mai also began to cry a little.

"Phoebe, what's wrong?" Mai asked in a small, upset voice.

Phoebe didn't say anything.

Killian sighed, "Come on. We're going home."

Even as Mai started whining, pleading for them to stay just ten minutes longer, _five_ minutes longer, Phoebe just silently went along with it.

Something was eating up Phoebe, but if she refused to say what it was, then how was he going to figure out how to help her?

* * *

"I know it seems impossible right now, but try to relax." Ray told Mary Margaret as she paced in her cell.

"Ray, I've been accused of murder." Mary Margaret shot back.

"I know that." Ray told her, noting that she seemed to get more nervous as time went on. "Right now though you need to stay calm and try to keep a level head."

Much like Ray was doing, as he felt a growing headache at everything that had happened recently. The hearts were the biggest thing, though he could at least commiserate with others on that. What he couldn't exactly talk about was just how stressful it was dealing with Emma's custody case and now defending Mary Margaret on a potentially upcoming murder trial. He was still waiting to hear from the agency in Boston about Henry's adoption, just to cover all of his bases. It had taken a lot longer than he would've liked just trying to figure out where the adoption had been handled, which was worrying in and of itself. Now, he had to not only handle that, but he also had to find _something_ that would convince a potentially wishy washy jury that the story of a potential mistress killing the wife wasn't what happened. 

He knew that Mary Margaret couldn't have done this, but that didn't mean that others shared his belief.

"Did David call?" Mary Margaret asked. "Is Copper okay?"

"Yes, he's okay." Ray said, remembering the message David relayed to him when he - predictably - couldn't call Mary Margaret. "David got swamped with work, but he's keeping Copper with him for now. He says he'll visit as soon as he can."

Mary Margaret merely nodded to herself, but she clearly on edge, and understandably so. Emma and Graham might not turn up with exculpatory evidence, and if that happened then-

 _No,_ Ray thought as clinically as he could. _Think of the present. Try to predict potential outcomes, don't get overwhelmed by them._

Ray then said, "Mary Margaret, I need you to promise me that you won't make any rash decisions."

Mary Margaret finally stopped pacing, and gestured to her cell. "Well, I can't do much in here."

"I meant the next time you have to talk to the police or the prosecutor." Ray clarified. "And in the courtroom."

Mary Margaret paused before asking, "You think it's going to get that far?"

"I don't know." Ray told her honestly. "I will say that it's not looking good."

"But I didn't do it." Mary Margaret insisted.

"I know, I believe you." Ray assured her. "That doesn't mean the prosecutor will, and they'll spin the story into their own version of the truth, and in that version you'll be a murderer." Ray then stepped closer to the cell to make sure Mary Margaret paid attention to him. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Mary Margaret said, as if it was obvious.

"Then I need you to follow my advice." Ray said seriously. "You can't hide anything from me. Even if you don't think it's important, I need to know so that we don't end up surprised in court. Also, you can't lash out at anyone. Anything you say out of anger could paint you as aggressive, and given the nature of this crime, that's the last thing we need. And, most important of all, when the prosecution asks you something and I tell you not to, _listen to me._ "

Mary Margaret took in his words, and if the gravity of the situation hadn't already sunken in, it certainly did now. People had been ready to believe that she and David had an affair when nothing had happened. Unfortunately, it might not be too much of a stretch for them to think that she was a murderer.

The only thing stopping Mary Margaret from losing it altogether was that she had some allies. Even if Emma and Graham had to be impartial, and she couldn't blame them for that, she at least had Ray to fight for her. She just hoped that it would be enough to get through this.

Mary Margaret nodded. "Alright, I understand. What do you need me to tell you?"

* * *

"I just want everyone to know that this is a fucking terrible idea." Declan said as he and the gang sorted through Regina's things in her office.

"Unless you have a better idea, keep looking." Henry said as he continued his own search, thinking about how Declan had been the most anxious to leave Regina's office as soon as possible. Then again, none of them really wanted to be there if and when Regina came back.

"What are we looking for again?" Nick asked.

"Proof that Regina framed Mary Margaret." Henry said.

"I meant something specific." Nick clarified.

"Um...maybe something that proves that she killed Kathryn or something like that." Henry suggested.

"Oh, awesome, we think she definitely murdered Kathryn?" Paige asked incredulously.

LJ replied, "After those hearts that were found in that vault, I wouldn't be surprised.

There had to be something here. It made too much sense for Regina to frame Mary Margaret for Kathryn's murder. Regina cast the curse to hurt Snow White, and Henry wouldn't put it past her to try and hurt her here. There had to be proof, and although he knew that Emma would get mad at him for putting himself in danger again, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"By the way, what'd your uncle say about that?" Ava asked LJ.

LJ replied, "That I should try and stay out of it."

"I still can't believe the adults know." Nick said.

"Yeah, well, at least we know we're not going crazy." Declan muttered under his breath.

It seemed as if Henry was the only person who was taking the revelation that the Curse was real well. Then again, he'd had more time to collect him, and his initial reaction to it wasn't the best. He'd nearly gone two days without eating before Regina made him.

"What's this?" Paige asked as she pulled out a key ring, and many keys hung on it.

Henry stepped forward to look at them, and found that they looked relatively old-looking. Not in terms of them rusting, but that the way they were shaped and the color suggested an antique-look.

"I wonder what that opens." Ava commented.

"Let's find out." Henry said eagerly, already wondering what door or maybe what treasure chest it opened.

"Oh fuck no." Declan immediately denied. "We have no idea when Regina's getting back ,and I don't want a repeat of the last time she caught onto us."

Henry felt a stab of guilt upon remembering how disastrously that went, so he agreed and they left, though not before Paige handed him the keys. As he felt the weight of it in his hands, he began to figure out what they were for.

* * *

"We are going to talk about this later." Emma told Henry warningly, feeling somewhat better when she saw the way he gulped, if only because he knew that she was serious. Honestly, she might have to seriously extend how long he's grounded for if he keeps pulling stunts like this.

Emma had been heading back to the loft to pick up some things for Mary Margaret - mainly overnight things - when she was confronted by Henry and his friends. Apparently, they had gotten involved in his breaking and entering, and now they were all standing there watching her.

Henry claimed that they were skeleton keys, and Emma was testing it out because, honestly, by this point she was more than a little ready to believe that Regina was capable of framing an innocent woman for murder. Still, the keys looked too old to fit into a modern lock.

Emma started going multiple keys, and as predicted, the first few didn't work.

And then one of them entered the lock with a click.

 _You have got to be shitting me_ , Emma thought as she turned the key, and she nearly gasped along with some of Henry's friends when she was able to open the door.

"Oh my god, she really did it." Ava breathed out. "She framed Mary Margaret."

That snapped Emma back into action. "Okay, you all need to head home, right now. No arguing, understand me?"

Some of them obeyed, but three remained behind.

"Graham's still working." Declan said as LJ explained "So is my uncle."

"And I don't want to go home." Henry told her.

Emma didn't want him to go back to Regina's either. So, she said, "Okay, let's go to the station and wait. But no more screwing around, got it?"

The boys nodded, and soon they piled into the Bug and drove back to the station.

"Declan?" Graham asked confusedly as he and Mary Margaret watched the boys come in with Emma. "What are you doing here?"

"You weren't home." Declan replied.

"And they had this with them." Emma said as she subtly showed Graham the skeleton keys, trying to keep them out of Mary Margaret's sight. Not that she didn't trust her, but the fewer people who asked potentially uncomfortable questions, the better.

"Declan." Graham sighed out disappointedly, clearly realizing that the kids hadn't listened to their warnings about staying out of it.

"Ms. Swan!" Regina's voice called out, and instinctively Emma quickly went to her desk and hid the skeleton keys in one of the drawers. Looking up, she found that Henry quickly went to her side, and while LJ was gravitating towards them, Declan had immediately gone to hide behind Graham.

Hardly a second later, Regina burst through the doors to enter the bullpen, an enraged look on her face. However, when she saw Henry, seh visibly smoothed her features. "Henry, what are you doing here? Why aren't you home?"

"I don't want to go home." Henry told her as he remained by Emma's side.

Regina looked from Henry to Emma, and said, "So you've already begun turning my son against me. Henry, go to my car."

"I don't want to!" Henry nearly shouted, and Emma had to place a hand on his shoulder and whisper to him to calm down.

"Henry, I am still your mother." Regina said before addressing Emma. "Even if Ms. Swan is trying to stop that."

Emma gave Regina a hard look, determined not to let Henry go back.

Regina turned to Sheriff Graham. "I know it would be...awkward, to arrest your deputy, but she can't just keep him."

Emma almost felt nervous at the way Graham seemed to try _not_ to smile.

"Actually," Graham said, "I'm afraid that it's come to my attention that you've been neglecting your son."

"Has she been saying that?" Regina asked with a glance at Emma.

"A concerned citizen, actually." Graham replied, making sure to keep Declan behind him, "There are photos of you leaving Henry by himself for hours, to say the least. I've been meaning to tell you this, but I simply have no choice but to remove Henry from your care until the proper authorities arrive."

"What proper authorities?" Regina asked incredulously.

"Child Protection Services." Graham replied.

Emma looked at Graham, wondering what the hell he was doing.

Graham continued, "Storybrooke doesn't have a foster care system, but I would be...remiss in my duties to allow you to have him in your house. For now, Deputy Swan shall house him until the court completes your case."

Regina got this look on her face that set Emma on edge. Her already dark eyes became darker as they seemed to flare with a hatred towards Graham and Emma. Regina was furious because she had been outmaneuvered.

Of course, she could try and call Graham's bluff about CPS, but then that might lead to some uncomfortable questions Regina wasn't willing to answer.

Despite Emma being taken by surprise by Graham's supposed bluff - because he wouldn't actually send Henry to foster care, right? - she was willing to go along with it since it knocked Regina off balance.

Clearly trying to regain control of the situation, Regina straightened her back and said, "Ms. Swan, I think we should carry this conversation somewhere more private. The hallway for example."

Emma agreed, though only because it meant that Regina could leave sooner. After telling Henry that she'd be back soon, Emma went with Regina down the hallway.

Once they were safely out of earshot, all pretense of politeness went out of the proverbial window.

"You must be out of your mind." Regina told her with a hard look. "You actually think I'm going to let you take my son away?"

"Whoa, hold on." Emma said warningly. " _You're_ the one who's been abusing him. Henry is scared of you."

"He is _not_ scared of me." Regina denied.

"He _is_." Emma shot back. "What, you thought that threatening his friends, calling him crazy, and leaving him alone at the house for hours made you a good mother?"

"At least I didn't give him away." Regina retorted.

Pressing down that old guilt, Emma stood her ground. "Because I thought he was going to a good home, but I was wrong." Emma then stepped closer to Regina and told her in a low voice, "You've been hurting him for years, and you don't even seem to care, because you're too busy blaming everyone else. You're a sociopath, lady. You are toxic and the last thing Henry needs in his life."

Regina angrily said, "I could have you fired. It'd be easy. You're letting your feelings get in the way of your work, and now you've convinced Graham to abuse his authority to help you."

"Graham intervened because he knows that you're a horrible person who shouldn't have kids." Emma told her. "And the only way I'll accept losing my job if you quit for letting _your_ feelings get in the way."

Regina started, "No I have-"

"Yes, you have." Emma hissed out. "We both know you're not above bullying everyone to get your way, and using the fact that you're the mayor to do it. Well, you're not doing that to my kid. _Not anymore_."

Regina looked at her with utter hatred, and if Emma believed in the curse, she might think that Regina would like nothing more than to rip out her heart.

Luckily for Emma, Regina had no power here, at least for now.

"This isn't over. I _will_ get my son back." Regina told her before she stormed out.

Emma took a few moments to collect herself before heading back into the bullpen.

There she found Graham hugging Declan with one arm as the kid stayed close to him, and LJ was talking with Mary Margaret. As soon as Henry saw her, he jumped up to stand in front of her.

"What'd she say?" Henry asked.

"Nothing I couldn't deal with." Emma told him.

"So it's true?" Henry asked her. "I can live with you."

"For now, yeah." Emma told him. "We have to wait for what the family judge will say, but-"

Henry interrupted her by hugging her around the waist, and she instinctively held him back. "I knew it. I knew you'd help me."

Emma smiled at him as she held on tighter. "Of course I would."

"I can hold down the fort here." Graham told her.

"You sure?" Emma asked as Henry pulled back to break the hug, though he still stayed closer to her.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Graham said. "Besides, I've got two deputies here to back me up, right?"

LJ said "Right" as Declan nodded, keeping close to Graham.

Emma nodded gratefully at Graham, silently and meaningly glancing at her desk - where the keys were in one of the drawers - before she looked at Henry. "Come on kid, let's go home."

She and Henry then went outside, and Emma was making plans on where should get get some pajamas for him at this hour, when Henry exclaimed, "Look!"

Emma watched as Henry raced toward the back of her car, bent down, and then stood up to show her his book.

"Oh wow." Emma commented as she approached Henry, who excitedly held onto his book.

"It's back." Henry told her with a gleeful grin.

"Yeah." Emma said suspiciously, knowing deep down that it didn't get there by accident. "Imagine that."

* * *

David walked around town with Copper, trying to give the saddened puppy exercise as it was clear that he wasn't the only one who missed Mary Margaret.

He couldn't believe that anyone would think she could do this. Mary Margaret was sweet, gentle, kind, and...and she wasn't capable of that kind of violence.

However, since it wasn't Mary Margaret, then who was it? Who hated Kathryn enough to do _that_ to her?

Copper whimpered sadly.

"I know, boy." David said. "We'll visit her as soon as we can."

Just then, he and Copper passed the library, and upon seeing Killian through the door, David was struck with the need to commiserate with someone, to know that more people knew that Mary Margaret couldn't have done this, and he went inside.

Almost immediately, Lady raced forward to greet them, and soon she and Copper were rolling around wrestling with each other.

"Hey, be careful." David gently admonished the dogs.

"Lady, no, bad girl." Dada said as she went forward to pick up Lady, who whimpered as she looked at Copper.

Copper whimpered as well, wagging his tail excitedly.

"I think we interrupted playtime." David said. "How have you been, Dada?"

"I've been good." Dada said. "How about you?"

"I've...been better." David told her. "What with Mary Margaret...you know."

"Yeah, I do." Dada said. "She couldn't have done this, right? She's, just, too nice."

"Of course she didn't." Killian said as he came into view. "Dave, how are you?"

"Like I said, I've been better." David said. "I have Copper for now since Mary Margaret is, well, kind of indisposed."

Killian grimaced. "Well, Ray's working her case, so she should be alright."

"What about Kathryn?" David asked. "I'm worried about Mary Margaret, but...they still haven't found the rest of her body."

Dada's expression became somber. "I saw Kathryn's father in town today. He was...he just looked devastated."

David felt a great swell of pity for the man. He couldn't imagine losing a child, especially like that. Worse, like David said, they didn't even have a body to bury.

Dada looked between the men before saying, "Look, I know some people around town think that she's this...murderer, but that can't be right, can it?"

"Of course not." David said immediately as Killian nodded with him. He wondered how she was holding up. After he finished up here, he would make sure to visit Mary Margaret.

Killian's eyes wandered over to a nearby clock. He turned to Dada and said, "You should pack up. He's coming over soon, right?"

"He's already here." A new voice said, and David turned to find a somewhat familiar man standing there. After putting some thought into it, David realized that this was Dada's boyfriend, and that they'd met at Dada's 20th birthday party.

Dada went over to greet Jefferson, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, and David didn't miss the way Killian watched the man suspiciously.

Jefferson then looked between Killian and David and asked, "Hey, you're friends with the sheriff and deputy, right? Do you know what's going to happen to Mary Margaret?"

"She's fine, for now." Killian told Jefferson.

Jefferson looked a little surprised and put off by Killian's curtness.

Dada glared at Killian as she said, "He's just worried about Mary Margaret."

"Aren't we all?" David said.

Dada pursed her lips before quickly gathering her jacket and bag, putting them on before she went over to grab Jefferson's hand. "We should get going." Dada told Jefferson before she pulled him out of the library.

David looked over at Killian and asked, "You're not a big fan of her boyfriend, are you?"

Killian shrugged. "Just don't know him."

"Maybe you should try and get to know him before you start glaring him to death?" David said. When Killian gave him a look, David shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

Killian sighed. "Unfortunately, we've got bigger things to worry about than Dada's boyfriend. And not just Mary Margaret either."

"You mean the-" David cut himself before lowering his voice at the paranoid feeling that someone could be listening. "You mean the hearts."

Killian nodded. "Graham still hasn't gotten word back on what happened to the one he and Emma found, and he's hiding the heart that the kids found."

David shook his head. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around those hearts. I can't imagine what the kids are going through."

"I saw them today." Killian told them. "They were just passing by the library, and it looked like none of them hadn't gotten much sleep."

David nodded grimly. "I don't blame them. We just need to make sure that Regina never realizes what they know."

"As far as I know, she thinks that Henry's the only one who believes." Killian replied.

"Believes?" David asked. "Believes in what?"

Killian hesitated before saying, "The curse."

"Henry's curse." David clarified. "You think it's real."

"After everything we've seen, I can't discount it." Killian said. "As strange as it seems, I can't find any other explanation for what we found."

David felt something tighten uncomfortably in his stomach, and although he was reticent to believe in Henry's curse, he knew that something was deeply wrong in this town.

"Let's just hope it's not true." David told him. "If it is, then we're all in more danger than we thought."

* * *

Mary Margaret tossed and turned in her prison cot. She didn't know what to do. David had visited earlier with Copper, and had promised to leave Copper with Emma.

Seeing David had been harder than she thought, but although she wanted so badly to ask him about Kathryn, they had little time to talk before visiting hours were over. She didn't want to spoil it by asking, despite how dissatisfied she felt with herself for not confronting him about it. If it had been nothing, then why wouldn't he just say something?

Mary Margaret sighed, because while it was nice to have more visitors, but that didn't change the fact that Mary Margaret had still been arrested for murder.

Mary Margaret felt something tighten in her throat as she curled up on the cot, taking in shallow breaths as she tried to control her emotions. She was alone in the station, but she didn't want to end up crying now. She felt cold and lonely, and couldn't help but think about how Ray had warned her that this could go to trial.

She was innocent, but she wasn't naive. She knew that it looked pretty bad, and a jury might find her guilty. Or maybe it would be a judge. She couldn't remember Storybrooke having a murder trial, and it just made the situation all the more daunting.

Mary Margaret moved her hand under her pillow to adjust it when she felt something cold and hard. Sitting up, Mary Margaret moved the pillow away, and she was surprised to find a key there. Picking it up, she saw that it looked a little outdated, which only made her wonder why it was there. Did Emma or Graham put it there? If so, why? What could it open?

Mary Margaret looked at the door of her cell, and jokingly thought, _Maybe it's the key to my freedom._

...Was it?

Seeing how she couldn't sleep, and that she had nothing else to do, Mary Margaret got up from the bed, key in hand, and walked up to the front of the cell. Reaching through the bars of the cell to maneuver the key into the lock, she didn't expect for the key to go into the keyhole as easily as it did.

She certainly didn't expect for it to easily turn in the keyhole, and for it to unlock the door.

Mary Margaret looked around to see if anyone was there before cautiously opening the door, standing stockstill when she realized that she was now free of her cell.

 _You can run now,_ a voice in her head told Mary Margaret. _You can just leave and never look back. You can't risk being found guilty._

It was a highly tempting offer, especially since Mary Margaret feared the consequences of staying, but her hand instinctively tightened around the key, and it brought her back to reality.

Who had given her the key? Emma wouldn't, because she needed to be impartial, and she wasn't that reckless. And neither would Graham for those same reasons.

Someone clearly wanted her to leave, but who?

 _I need you to promise me that you won't make any rash decisions,_ Ray had told her.

He'd warned her about that in the courtroom though, not in a situation when she could escape.

Ray's words echoed more loudly in her mind - _I need you to promise me that you won't make any rash decisions._

 _If I'm caught escaping, they'll definitely think I'm guilty_ , Mary Margaret thought worried.

 _But if I stay, I might be found guilty of something I didn't do_ , she thought panickingly.

However, if she did leave, she could never come back. She could never stop hiding. She couldn't risk contacting Emma or Henry or David or anyone from Storybrooke without fear of getting caught. She wouldn't have a chance to take Copper with her. She'd forever be on the run.

Which was worse? Leaving her entire life behind on the chance that she'd be found guilty, or staying and taking the risk that she would still be found guilty?

In this case, one option at least had allies, so it was with great disappointment and reluctance that Mary Margaret stepped back into her cell, and shut the door.

She went back to the cot, and put the key back under the pillow, promising herself that she would show Emma and Graham when they came by in the morning.

 _Get me out of here,_ Mary Margaret silently pleaded as she laid back on the cot. _Someone please set me free._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is - Mary Margaret didn't take the bait, but now what does this mean for her trial? Guess you'll have to find out ;)
> 
> Also, yay Henry is away from Regina and is living with Emma, but for how long? Guess you'll have to find ou- lol sorry won't do that again.
> 
> Furthermore, Graham has yet to reveal to Emma what happened at the hospital with the heart they originally found. Given how everyone's still kind of in shock, you'll have to forgive him.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the box down below.
> 
> See you same time next week!


	27. The Other Shoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, a custody battle happens, Mary Margaret is still in jail, and Regina gets desperate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing canon from the series.
> 
> Another Disclaimer: I said it once, and I'll say it again, I am *not* a lawyer or anything with experience in law - I do my best with what Google gives me.
> 
> So this is a...relatively short but nonetheless important chapter, so I hope you still like it.
> 
> Special thanks as always to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 27, 2012_

_What the hell?_ , Regina thought as she came into the station, and she saw that Mary Margaret was eating breakfast in her cell.

No, no, no. This can't be. She had to take the bait she left her. She just had to.

Regina had gone to the trouble of having the cameras in and around the police station go down, just to make sure no one could track the key back to her.

Mary Margaret was supposed to take the key, and then she'd go. So why in the hell was she here?

"Good morning, Madam Mayor." Emma said with a small amount of disdain.

Regina forced a smile on her face. "Good morning. Ms. Blanchard, I see you're doing well."

"I'll be better once I'm found innocent." Mary Margaret said.

 _Not likely,_ Regina thought.

Something was growling at her, and when Regina looked down she was surprised to find a Bloodhound puppy almost glaring at her.

"I didn't realize Storybrooke had a K-9 unit." Regina commented snarkily.

"I don't think he likes you." Emma replied. "I guess dogs do have good instincts."

Regina retorted, "Is it really appropriate for a dog to be here?"

That's when the traitor Graham entered the bullpen from his office and said, "As long as he doesn't cause a disturbance, it'll be fine."

Regina's fist tightened, and she wished Graham's heart was in it. She should've crushed his heart the minute they crossed over into this realm. The only reason she kept him around was because he was convenient as both the sheriff and as a bed warmer. Now he was proving to be almost as much a thorn in her side as Emma was.

Speaking of…

"Well," Regina said, "seeing as I have an appointment with the courthouse thanks to Ms. Swan, I should be going."

"I'm going too." Emma said as she put on her coat.

The two women shared a challenging look as they left the bullpen, and even as they got into their cars and drove to the courthouse.

Regina swore that after Mary Margaret was disposed of, Emma and Graham were next on her list.

* * *

Emma wasn't at all surprised that right out of the gate, her custody battle with Regina would be ugly.

She just didn't predict how much her temper would flare at the accusations the damn woman was throwing around.

"She's deliberately keeping my son from me." Regina accused as she gestured at Emma from across the table they and their lawyers were sitting at. They were all in a conference room, where the only other person besides the judge was the bailiff. "She's abusing her authority to poison him against me."

"First of all, _no_." Emma retorted. "Second of all, at least I'm actually watching him instead of going off for hours at a time."

"I have a job, Ms. Swan." Regina told her. "I'm the mayor of a town."

"And somehow you can't afford an actual babysitter?" Emma shot back.

"Mayor Mills, Deputy Swan, please control yourselves." Judge Santos said at the head of the table, looking wearily and yet also impatiently between them. "I understand that tensions are high, but I appreciate even tempers in my court."

That's when Regina's lawyer, Albert Spencer, the same guy who had been Kathryn's divorce lawyer, spoke up. "Your Honor, Mayor Mills has been the only maternal figure in Henry's life. Just because Deputy Swan regrets her decision to give the boy up for adoption doesn't mean he should pay for it."

Ray shot back with, "Emma is the only _positive_ maternal figure in Henry's life." He handed the judge and Spencer folders, which Emma realized were the photos of times Regina was gone from the house. "As you can see from these copies, Mayor Mills left Henry at home for hours at a time-"

Spencer tried to interrupt. "Mayor Mills is incredibly busy running the town."

Ray spoke up more firmly, "For hours at a time _without_ supervision. Because of this, Henry was put in danger, such as when he left the house to look at the mines, and nearly died as a result." Even as Regina and Spencer began to object, Ray said, "I fail to see how that's in the child's best interest."

Regina snapped back with, "I have devoted my life to giving Henry everything he could ask for."

"Except friends." Emma snarked before Ray quietly told her to keep calm.

Between this and whoever left the key under Mary Margaret's pillow, Emma didn't know how much more she could take. Not to mention that Graham seemed weirdly distant. Okay, not cold, but he just seemed kind of off, but he wouldn't say why.

As for the key, which they learned could open Mary Margaret's cell, she knew that Regina had something to do with it, but somehow the cameras went down some time between Mary Margaret being let out to use the bathroom and no one else being in the bullpen. Neither she or Graham had proof it was Regina, and it would be stupid to accuse her outright. She also didn't know what Regina would gain from having Mary Margaret escape.

 _Focus, Emma_ , she told herself, as this meeting was pretty fucking important.

"Your Honor," Ray said, "I would like to take this moment to formally ask that a psychologist evaluate Henry for the purposes of this case."

"The only psychologist Storybrooke has is Dr. Hopper." Judge Santos said. "Has he already spoken with Henry?"

Ray nodded. "Previously, at Mayor Mill's insistence, Henry has been going to meetings with Dr. Archibald Hopper for the last five months."

Emma nearly smiled at the way Ray subtly, and justifiably, pushed the blame on Regina for why Henry was seeing Archie.

Judge Santos nodded. "Mr. Spencer, do you have any objections?"

Spencer whispered something to Regina, who in turn whispered something back with more fervor, before Spencer told the judge, "No, Your Honor."

"Finally something we can agree on." Judge Santos said. "I will review Dr. Hopper myself, and in all likelihood, he shall do a formal evaluation of Henry Mills. Now, onto the matter of where the boy will be staying-"

"He should be with me, Your Honor." Regina interrupted, softening her features when she saw the irritation on Judge Santos' face. "He's lived with me his entire life. It's not fair for him to be moved somewhere else."

"Henry doesn't want to live with her." Emma told the judge. "He said so himself last night in front of witnesses."

"She's poisoning him against me." Regina insisted.

Judge Santos replied, "I'd rather hear it from Henry myself."

"He's in school right now." Emma said.

Judge Santos then airily asked, "Would there be any chance in both parties would agree to joint custody?" After Emma and Regina summarily rejected that, Judge Santos commented, "I didn't think so, which gives us a conundrum."

"Your Honor, Deputy Swan doesn't even have a legal right to the child." Spencer said. "She gave him up for adoption, and Mayor Mills has legal authority."

Before Emma's heart could sink at the triumphant look on Regina's face, Ray saved her.

"Actually," Ray started as he pulled out a paper and passed it to the judge. "I received this letter from an adoption agency in Boston." Then, with practiced calm, he continued, "I wanted to inquire about Henry's adoption, to make sure that everything was alright of course, and then they told me something interesting. Mayor Mills never called back after taking Henry to Storybrooke as an infant, and they were never able to complete a proper visit."

Emma looked over at Spencer, and saw that he got a wary look on his face.

As Judge Santos looked over the paper, Regina asked, "What does that have to do with this?"

Ray explained, "Because neither the adoption agency or CPS were able to make a proper home visit, despite some paperwork being filed, the actual status of Henry's adoption is still pending."

Instantly, all confidence left Regina's face even as it filled Emma's entire being.

"Furthermore, Your Honor," Ray said, "Deputy Swan told me that Henry was born in Arizona, which doesn't allow for out-of-state adoptions. There is no true reason why, even if he was brought to Boston, he shouldn't have been sent back to Arizona, making this entire adoption, at best, a fallacy."

Judge Santos looked displeased with Regina and Spencer, and paused a few moments. Suddenly looking very tired, the judge said, "I will review these papers and confirm it myself with the agencies in Boston and Arizona. However, I have to point out that Deputy Swan gave up custody."

"Because she was a scared teenager, Your Honor." Ray insisted, and Emma was highly thankful that she'd told him how she had been 17 when she gave birth to Henry, even if the rest of that story - and its omissions - had been...somewhat false.

"She was apparently old enough to get pregnant." Regina muttered, and Emma glared at her."

Ray glared at her before he said, "Deputy Swan admits that it was irresponsible to get pregnant at such a young age, but, again, she was still a minor. Under the law, she had no rights _to_ give up."

Despite feeling a little indignant at being referred to as a child, even in a mild sense, Emma knew that it was for her and Henry's benefit. It certainly seemed to have an effect on Judge Santos.

Spencer jumped in with, "Your Honor, whether she was too young or not, Deputy Swan still willingly and knowingly gave up the child for adoption. She couldn't have possibly expected to simply have him back after that."

"She didn't." Ray said passionately. "She did not look for _Henry_ , not once, since she gave him up. _Henry_ tracked her down. _Henry_ went to her. Your Honor, if a 10-year-old child runs away from home to find a total stranger who only shares his blood, what does that tell you about his home life?"

Judge Santos raised their hand, silencing Ray who looked raring to go another round. Judge Santos raise their hand again to silence Spencer before a contemplative look came over their face. For a solid minute, the room was steeped in so much silence that you could've heard a pin drop.

When Judge Santos finally spoke again, it nearly startled Emma.

"I want to talk to Henry before I make a decision." Judge Santos said.

"A decision?" Spencer asked. "So soon?"

"Yes." The judge said. "Because if Mr. Fitzroy is right, and Henry's adoption was procured due to someone skirting the law, or preventing the appropriate agencies from doing legal checkups, then the validity of the adoption is certainly in question. Mr. Fitzroy's accertations that Deputy Swan didn't know any better are interesting and compelling, but it remains to be scene if they are also legally valid. I want to know directly from Henry what he truly believes. So, after school is complete, I want him brought here so I can speak to him privately." Judge Santos also turned to the bailiff nearby and said, "Call Dr. Hopper. I want to talk to him now before Henry gets here. After I'm done, I'll make my decision." When both Ray and Spencer tried to speak up, Judge Santos said in a tone filled with finality, "That is all. For now."

* * *

After school was over, Henry knew something was up when Graham parked in front of the school, and walked up to him and Declan. The expression on his face seemed a little too serious. Not grim by any means, just...serious.

"We're going home today?" Declan asked Graham curiously.

"Actually," Graham said, "I'm going to drop Henry off at the courthouse, _then_ we'll go home." When Graham spotted LJ, who had walked up to stand next to Henry and Declan, and he said, "Your uncle might be tied up with work, so he's said it's alright for you to stay with us while we wait."

"Wait, what?" Henry asked as they climbed into the car, noticing that Copper was in the backseat. Once they were all buckled up, Henry allowed Copper to climb into his lap, although it was a little difficult since Henry wanted to keep his book close. He wasn't about to let it out of his sight after losing it for so long. "What's happening?"

"Judge Santos just wants to ask you a few questions." Graham tried to say disarmingly as he began to drive the car.

"Why?" Henry asked further.

Graham said, "It's about the custody case. Listen, the important thing to remember is that you just need to answer honestly."

Despite nodding, Henry didn't feel very comforted. He hadn't known that he was going to speak to the judge, at least not so soon. What if he messed it up somehow and Emma lost the case? What if the judge said he would have to live with Regina?

Henry felt something squeeze his hand. Looking down, he found that Declan was briefly holding his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before pulling back and looking away. Henry knew that physical affection wasn't really Declan's thing, but he appreciated the gesture all the more.

Henry was reminded of Copper's presence when the puppy stood on Henry's lap to be able to peer through the window.

Henry reached up to scratch behind Copper's ear, taking some more comfort in the way Copper leaned into his touch.

Eventually, they arrived at the courthouse. Henry grabbed his backpack and book, and after saying goodbye to his friends and Copper, Graham quickly led Henry inside the courthouse. They eventually made their way to a private room - the judge's chambers, in fact - where a judge and a bailiff resided. Once Graham was safely inside, he whispered "Good luck," and soon left.

"Hello, Mr. Mills." The judge said in a friendly tone, getting up to hold their hand out to Henry. "I'm Judge Santos. How are you?"

"Okay." Henry said with a shrug, though he was mindful to shake Judge Santos' hand. "What's going on?"

"Please, let's sit." Judge Santos said pleasantly, and he led Henry over to two chairs that faced each other while the bailiff stood nearby.

Once they were seated, Judge Santos pointed to the book Henry was still holding and asked, "What's that?"

"It's my storybook." Henry answered. "I lost it for a while, but I just got it back last night."

"That's good." Judge Santos said. They then continued with, "Henry, I wanted to talk to you in private about the custody case, but especially about what you want. It's very important that I understand your wishes in this. Do you mind answering a few questions?"

"Um, I guess not." Henry said. "Should my mom be here?"

Judge Santos shook his head. "It's just between us. Well, us and the bailiff, but they keep secrets very well. Besides, Deputy Swan, Mayor Mills, and their lawyers are in another room."

The judge then nodded to the bailiff, who moved a camera to face Henry, and as the bailiff set everything up, Judge Santos explained that it was so the court could have a record of this.

"You're recording this?" Henry asked worriedly.

The judge explained, "It'll just be something for the court record."

Henry's next question was, "Will Regina see it?"

Judge Santos looked at him curiously before saying, "No. Mayor Mills won't look at it."

"Yeah she will." Henry said, wincing at how dismissive he sounded. "Sorry, but...she'll just scare someone into giving it to her, or she'll use the fact that she's the mayor to do it."

Judge Santos asked, "What makes you think that Henry?"

"Because she's-" Henry was about to say that it was because the Evil Queen, and she didn't care about other people, but he knew that would sound strange to the judge. Instead, Henry told him, "Because she always does this. She tried to frame my- Emma for stealing something from Archie, and I know she did it because she didn't want Emma around."

"What do you mean Henry?" Judge Santos asked. After Henry explained the situation that happened about a day after Emma got to Storybrooke, with Archie accusing Emma of stealing his files and how Regina had told Henry about it, but Henry didn't believe her, Judge Santos asked, "Henry, why did you run away from home? Why did you look for Emma?"

"I wanted to….I wanted to meet her." Henry said.

"But you had known you were adopted for some time, isn't that right?" Judge Santos asked. "Why then?"

 _Because of the curse,_ Henry thought. _Because she was the only one who could save us, but...I didn't know how much I'd love her._

Henry stammered, "Because...because I just...I don't know."

Judge Santos nodded understandingly, or as much as they could. "Henry, what do you understand of the situation?"

"Emma wants me to live with her." Henry said. "And I want to live with her too."

"You've lived with Mayor Mills your entire life." Judge Santos pointed out. "Do you think you'd miss her?"

"Maybe a little." Henry admitted. "I mean, I love her, but...she's not a good person."

"How come?" Judge Santos asked.

 _Because she's keeping everyone trapped here,_ Henry thought. _She threatened my friend, tried to keep me away from my real mom. She's killed and threatened and hurt people for years._

Henry knew he couldn't say any of this, at least not yet, but he wanted to be truthful. So, after a long pause, Henry said, "She doesn't love me."

"Why would you think that?" The judge asked patiently.

Conversely, Henry was becoming more and more impatient. "She only pretends to love me." Henry blurted out. "She acts like she does, but she doesn't. She never lets me have friends over, she tried to keep me away from Emma, she's _awful_."

Judge Santos paused for a long moment before asking, "Henry, why would you like to live with Emma?"

"What?" Henry asked in surprised.

"Why do you want to live with Emma?" Judge Santos asked.

"I love her." Henry said. "And she loves me."

Judge Santos then said, "Explain it to me. Why do you love Emma?"

Henry took a moment to contemplate it, trying to think of what exactly to say. "I love Emma because...because she doesn't make me feel like I'm crazy. I know that she doesn't always think like me, but...I don't feel bad about it with her. Emma lets me hang out with my friends, and- oh. We got to hang out on Christmas. There's this little tree she gave me where my castle was, and it looked like the little tree in Charlie Brown, and it was cute and stuff and...she's just _there_ for me, you know?"

Judge Santos nodded before smiling at Henry. The judge then asked Henry some more questions before saying, "Thank you, Henry. This has been very helpful. Now, I want you to stay here while I talk to some people, okay?"

"Okay." Henry said, his hands tightening on the book still in his lap.

Judge Santos left, and after about five minutes, Henry began turning the pages of his storybook. The same stories were there, and yet getting the book back after not having it for so long made it feel like he was seeing it for the first time. He smiled at the images of Snow White and Prince Charming, but he also took at longer look at 'The Golden Goose', looking at the illustration of Dummy/Declan. Since he knew who Declan really was, it was easier to see him as the boy in the illustration.

Declan hadn't asked about who he really was since he learned about the hearts, but given his reaction to realizing the truth, Henry wasn't about to push him.

He had just turned the page to a new story, one that confused Henry as he thought he'd read every story in the book, when there was a knock at the door. It was only then, when Henry suddenly turned his head to the side to see what it was, that he winced when his stiff neck protested in pain, and he realized he'd been hunched over his book for quite some time.

Henry watched as the bailiff cracked the door open, and spoke in a low voice to someone. The bailiff then turned to Henry to say, "Judge Santos wants you follow me."

"Where are we going?" Henry asked the bailiff as he grabbed his things.

"To meet with your guardian." The bailiff said, and Henry felt his hands become clammy as he realized that the judge made a decision.

He nervously followed the bailiff, who led him to a room down the hall. Whoever it was, Henry would be made to live with them. He could run away if it was Regina, but-

The bailiff opened the door to the room, and led Henry inside.

Henry didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he saw Emma standing there with Ray, and Emma had a smile on her face.

"Hey kid." Emma said as she walked forward and wrapped him in her arms.

"What's happening?" Henry asked as he hugged her.

"The judge is letting you live with me." Emma said as she looked down at him.

Henry felt his heart lift, and a wide grin came on his face. "Really?"

"Mhmm." Ray said as he approached them. "The thing is, there's some legal stuff the adults have to take care of."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked worriedly.

Emma didn't want to tell him that the judge had been considering putting Henry into foster care, because the adoption process had been that marred and shady. That the judge had talked to Archie just to see what Henry's mental state was like, and if he was competent enough to speak on his own behalf.

Regina had been furious when the judge gave their ruling, and she had wanted to talk to Henry herself, but the judge simply had the bailiff escort her and Spencer to another room until she calmed down.

Emma knew that was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

There was also the fact that they didn't get out of this unscathed. Emma would have to prove that she could look after Henry on her schedule and budget, to prove that Regina leaving him alone so much and for so long couldn't be excused through a busy work schedule, and that if she screwed up they could end up right back here.

So for now, she said, "Just some stuff to do with the adoption. The point is that the judge has decided that, unless something massive comes up, you'll get to live with me. We'll have to deal with some paperwork for a while, but- _Oomph!_ "

Henry had lept forward and squeezed Emma around the waist in a tight hug. Henry thought he was going to laugh, but instead a grateful sob came out.

"Hey, hey, what is it?" Emma asked concernedly as she rubbed his back. "Are you...did you not want to live with me?"

"I do." Henry said as he tried not to sound as tearful as he did. "I just...can I really live with you?"

Emma hugged him tighter as she promised, "Let's see someone try to stop us."

Henry knew that someone - _Regina_ \- would, but for now he held onto his real mom, hoping that it would last forever.

* * *

Killian watched Phoebe sit by herself at a table as far away from him as she could get without being _too_ obvious. When he called her out on it before, she simply said she wanted to sit at a different table, but she was still so...standoffish. She wasn't engaging, and Killian was seriously beginning to consider taking her to Archie if this continued. Something was going on, and he didn't have a clue how to help her.

Killian turned his gaze over to Mai, who was sitting at a table coloring, though she was repeatedly distracted by Lady who kept pawing at Mai's feet as they dangled off the chair.

LJ and Declan weren't there today, and he'd learned from Paige that LJ and Declan had been picked up by Graham. As had Henry, though neither she or the twins could say why. Killian wondered if it had anything to do with-

The doors of the library burst open, and Henry ran inside with a huge smile on his face.

Mai looked over, and instantly flinched upon seeing Henry before turning her attention to her drawing, coloring it with more fervor.

Emma followed behind her with an equally happy look on her face.

"Hey Henry." Paige greeted. "What's up?"

"I get to live with Emma." Henry declared excitedly.

As his friends began to ask him a flurry of questions, Killian turned to Emma, who had approached him, and asked, "Is it true?"

"Yeah." Emma said with a nod. "There's going to be supervised visits from the court to make sure everything's great, and I'm kind of in a probationary period, but…" Emma trailed off, as she was too busy smiling to herself.

"That's great." Killian told her happily, feeling at ease that Henry was with his mother, and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

Emma pulled on his further to press her lips harder against his. Then, likely mindful of the presence of children around them, she broke off the kiss, and her eyes were bright.

She looked almost blissful.

Killian's heart soared at the fact that Emma and Henry were so happy. "Girls, did you hear that?" Killian asked.

Phoebe glanced over, and nodded before saying so lowly that it was nearly imperceptible, "Congrats."

He was almost ready to say something before he caught sight of Mai who nodded silently, trying not to look at them.

Killian realized that she was trying not to say anything, because she knew Henry was around. When he looked over, he found that Henry was looking at Mai too with a guilty expression.

Henry looked at Emma, who waved him over. Once he was close enough, she bent down to whisper something to him, and after some hesitation, Henry nodded at her.

He then walked over to Mai, who stilled when he stood next to her, and he glanced back at Emma and Killian.

After Emma gave him an encouraging nod, Henry turned back to Mai, gave a little sigh, and said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Mai looked at Killian with a confused look.

Killian gave her an encouraging nod.

Mai looked at Henry and hesitantly sorry, "Are you still mad at me?" After that, her lip quivered a little in worry.

Henry hurriedly said, "No, I'm not. I was just...I got angry." Henry then kneeled down so that he was closer to eye level with Mai. "I was mean, and...it wasn't nice. I'm really sorry."

Mai looked at Henry before reiterating, in fear that she was at fault, "I'm sorry I made you mad."

"I'm not mad." Henry assured her. "Just...I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Mai said in a little voice.

"Can I…" Henry started. "Can I hug you?"

Mai nodded silently, allowing Henry to hug her, and she hugged him back.

 _At least they might get along now,_ Killian thought, hugging Emma to his side.

"Want to draw with me?" Mai asked Henry as they pulled away from each other.

"Actually," Emma interjected, "Henry has to do homework. And no pouting, it's still a school night."

"I wasn't pouting." Henry said, who most definitely 'wasn't' pouting now. Regardless, he followed his mother's instructions, and went to a table with his friends.

"Quick question." Emma told him as Mai returned to her drawing. "Is Dada in the backroom by any chance?"

Killian shook his head. "No, she had to go run some errands."

Emma then whispered to him, "Then maybe we should go in the back and see if we can _talk_ in private."

From the way she emphasized it, Killian knew that 'talking' wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

After telling the kids that they would be in the backroom to check on some things, Killian followed Emma to the back. The minute they were there, and out of sight of the children, Emma pulled him in for a hard deep kiss. Killian pulled her close as well, and their lips molded against each other in passionate celebration.

Emma pulled back first and breathed out, "I actually have custody. It feels like I'm on probation, but...I actually have him. He doesn't have to be with her anymore."

"I'm happy for you." Killian told her sincerely. He brushed her hair behind her ears. "You both deserve this chance."

Emma smiled at him, blushing a little as she almost _shyly_ said, "I...I really want to thank you. Those photos helped build our case, and I don't know where we'd be without them. Thank you."

Killian replied, "I'm just glad I could help."

"You did more than help." Emma insisted. "You...you really saved us."

"No, Emma, you did all of this." Killian told her. "You've changed so many lives for the better."

"I only helped where I could." Emma tried to downplay.

"Love, listen to me." Killian said as he cupped her face, noticing that her cheek was hot. "You've done more for this town than anyone I've ever known. You're the one that inspired all of us to stand up for ourselves, to stand up again Regina. I'd say that's a pretty important."

Emma looked at him for a moment before curiously asking, "Love?"

"Yes?" Killian asked back as he pulled his hand back.

"No, you called me that." Emma told him. "You've never called me that before."

Killian began to shift awkwardly. "Well, I, uh, just...thought it was appropriate."

"Don't worry." Emma assured him. "I like it."

"You do?" Killian asked a little too excitedly. He then cleared his throat and said, "Perfect. I shall call you that more often."

"Especially during some alone time." Emma said. At Killian's curious look, she added, "We just haven't...gotten a chance to spend some time in private, between the hearts, the murder, this custody thing, the kids fighting. We've resolved two out of the four, but there's still stuff to do, but...I want that with you. I want to _be_ with you like that."

"I do too." Killian said honestly, deeply wanting to be that close to Emma, not solely for the sex, but because that would be another sign that she was letting her walls down with him, that she trusted. "We just need to find the right time and place, is all."

"Do you think we could try for another date?" Emma asked.

Killian smiled eagerly. "Why yes, I think we can certainly try."

* * *

_February 28, 2012_

"Ow, ow, ow." LJ muttered under his breath as he limped over to a bench in the school playground. During gym, he had tried to climb up the rope for exercise, but he'd lost his grip at the wrong time and fell with a big thud against the gym floor. Thankfully he hadn't broken anything, but his leg was sore, especially his ankle, and now he couldn't even play at recess.

"You okay, LJ?" Paige asked as she walked over to sit next to him.

"Yeah, kind of." LJ replied before he noticed what was in her hands. "Is that...is that the storybook?"

"Mhmm." Paige nodded. "I asked Henry if I could read it, but I had to promise to give it back before he'd hand it over. He's...kind of possessive about it."

LJ shrugged. "He missed the book a lot. Why'd you want to read it?"

Paige also shrugged, but this one was more awkward. "Well, because of...you know. The thing." She then whispered. "The hearts."

LJ nodded understandingly.

"Henry told me more about the curse." Paige told him with an embarrassed look on her face. "I know why you guys didn't tell Ava, Nick, and me this before, because, um, it sounds kind of crazy, but now that I know it's not, I just…"

"You want to know who you are." LJ surmised.

Paige got a relieved look on her face. "Exactly. You don't think it's dumb, do you?"

LJ shook his head. "No, it's fine. Since I'm pretty sure the curse is real, which is...kind of horrifying, but okay. Anyways, it's not bad that you want to know the truth."

Paige nodded in agreement. "Did you figure out who you are?"

"Nope." LJ said, letting the 'p' in the word pop. "Henry thinks I'm a knight, but I'm probably just a background character."

"You could be a knight." Paige replied.

"You think so?" LJ asked.

Paige nodded eagerly with a little smile on her face. "Obviously. I mean, well, you're nice, and brave, oh, and there was that time you caught that girl when she was about to slip. Those are pretty knightly things."

"Those are good things to do." LJ said, not getting where she was coming from. "Isn't that just, you know, decent stuff."

"You're a good person, LJ." Paige said, and LJ thought he saw a little blush on her cheeks before dismissing it, believing he was just imagining things.

He remembered watching this TV show, though he couldn't remember what it was called, and there was something one of the characters said about blushing. How if a girl blushes around a guy, that means she likes him. Well, that couldn't be what was happening here. It was probably just because Paige had just gotten out of gym too or something, LJ didn't know.

Now that he thought about it...what did a crush feel like? He didn't know. He was 13, wasn't he supposed to have one by now?

He shook his head to banish the confusing thought away, and looked at the book. "So, want to see if we can find you?"

"Okay." Paige said as they opened the book, and began sifting through pages. They began looking through stories, briefly pausing on the ones called "The Golden Goose" and "Hansel & Gretel," before moving on.

"Huh." Paige said. "The Mad Hatter's in here."

"Oh yeah." LJ commented, vaguely remembering the story.

"It's not like _Alice in Wonderland_." Paige commented as she began to slowly turn the pages of the story, stopping on an illustration of a man and a young girl smiling at each other. The girl was wearing a good, and a man with straggly brown hair was clearly kneeling to look at her with affection. As always, the illustration of the faces were pretty vague, and that always irritated LJ, as it made it hard to identify people.

Looking between Paige and the girl in the illustration, though, LJ thought he could make somewhat of a connection.

Without seeming to realize it, Paige had begun to read an excerpt from the story. " _And his daughter Grace asked, 'In our house? Do you know her?' Jefferson replied, 'Of course not,' and he urged his daughter to hide in the woods under the guise of a game, smiling so as not to let her know that the Evil Queen was once his ally._ "

LJ looked at her peculiarly, wondering if there was a reason the story elicited that reaction, and he said, "I think I remember this one. Kind of. The Evil Queen got Jefferson to work for her one last time, but it was just a trap."

"Trap?" Grace asked him. "What kind of trap."

LJ flipped the pages forward, skipping ahead in the story until he found the excerpt he wanted. He read aloud, " _Suddenly, Jefferson felt something wrap around his feet, and he realized that the Evil Queen had used magic to fuse his feets with the ground around him. She tried to evade with her father, but he begged her to wait. He begged to be allowed to see his daughter, but the Evil Queen refused. Only then did Jefferson realize that that was the true reason she brought him - to act as a replacement for her father. After all, if two went through the portal, only two could go back._ "

"Wait…" Paige trailed off as she looked back in the story, and once she realized how the thing with the portals and the hat worked, her eyes took on a horrified look. "Wait, so the Evil Que- _Regina_ did this to someone? She actually just...left someone behind."

"I think so, yeah." LJ said, feeling something cold in his stomach. Before, he had just thought this was a messed up story. To think that this actually happened to someone.

"And his daughter never knew what happened to him." Paige realized with a distressed look. "What happened after that?"

LJ turned the page until it showed an illustration of Jefferson, trapped by the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland, trying to make a new portal hat with a crazed look on his face. "He just kept...trying to make hats, like the one that could make portals, so that he could return to Grace. The thing is, he didn't make the original hat, so he didn't know how it all worked. He didn't stop trying though, and eventually...he just went insane, trying the same thing over and over again until- Paige?"

LJ had looked over, and saw that tears were falling down Paige's face as she stared at the illustration.

"Paige." LJ said again, and this time it snapped her out of her daze.

"What?" Paige asked. "Sorry, I kind of got...lost in thought I guess."

"You're crying." LJ observed, and Paige seemed surprised by this, even as she wiped the tears from her face.

"I...I don't know why I did that." Paige said confusedly.

Before LJ could say more, the bell rang, signaling that recess was over. "We should get going." He told her.

Paige simply nodded, and closed the book, and neither of them were sure how to process the implications of her reaction.

* * *

"Oh my god." Ruby said astonished as she and Ray talked in the backroom at Granny's. "Also, how could you not tell me sooner?"

Ray replied, "I was swamped with work. I wanted to make sure everything was in order before I talked to anyone about it."

"I can't believe you did it." Ruby said. "I thought this would drag over for weeks, or even months, but you managed to get Emma custody in one day. You really are good at this."

Ray blushed at her compliment. "I was just zealously defending my client's rights."

"So what happens now?" Ruby asked him.

"Well, that's up to the court." Ray replied, not wanting to say too much. "All in all, I'm going to keep fighting for Emma and Henry to stay together."

"You better!" Ruby insisted. "For one, I don't really like the idea of Regina having Henry more than anyone else does. For another, I just really want Emma and Henry to stay together, okay?"

"Okay." Ray said with a little chuckle. He then gently took her hand. "Listen, I know I've been really busy lately, but...maybe sometime soon, we can go on a nice date."

Ruby instantly smiled. "Yeah?"

Ray nodded. "Yeah. I can ask if another parent can look after LJ, and then we can have the whole night to ourselves."

"The whole night, huh?" Ruby said flirtatiously as she stepped forward, standing just inches away from Ray. "And what would we be doing, huh?"

"Um, well, uh." Ray began to stammer, especially when Ruby's eyes lit up in amusement. Seeing this as a good enough time as any to come clean, Ray said with burning cheeks, "Ruby, um...I think you should know that I, well, I've never...been intimate with someone before."

"Really?" Ruby asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Mhmm." Ray said. "I've, okay, I'll just be blunt. I've never had sex before. In fact, I never kissed anyone until, well…"

Ruby got a dawning look of realization on her face. "I was your first kiss?"

Ray smiled shyly as he nodded. He didn't really know what to make of her reaction.

Ruby then squeezed his hand. "Look, we won't do anything like that if you're not comfortable. We'll just go with whatever pace you want. If we get that far, I want your first time should be special."

Her willingness to let him lead touched him, so much so that he leaned forward to kiss her.

The kiss was cut short when Granny called on Ruby.

Ruby sighed a little, though she didn't seem as annoyed with her grandmother as she might have once have. "I've got to go. Learning the ins and outs of this business is going to be a hassle."

"You'll do fine." Ray assured her. "I have faith in you."

Ruby smiled before she said, "Ditto."

The two then kissed again, allowing themselves a small moment in private before they would have to reenter the world.

* * *

Regina paced around her office at home, feeling empty now that Henry wasn't with her anymore. Emma hadn't been over to collect his things, but she knew she'd have to eventually. When she did, Regina was going to rip-

Regina forced herself to stop pacing, trying to calm down, but nothing was going right.

First, Mary Margaret refused to take the bait of a key in her cell, _twice_. She had left one with her the night before, again in secret, and again Mary Margaret remained in her cell. Now that bitch Emma got her idiot lawyer to convince that even bigger idiot judge to steal her son?

She was the Evil Queen and the mayor. How dare they do this to her!

And Henry, her poor son. To be poisoned against her...what could he have possibly said to the judge that somehow convinced the moron to give her prince to Emma.

Did he...did he say something bad?

No, he couldn't have. Henry would never do that to her. Not after everything she did for him. She raised him since he was an infant, gave him everything he ever wanted.

No, no, it had to be Archie. The little bug had threatened her before with this exact thing. She should have made him the one to go missing instead of Kathryn, even if Kathryn was more convenient.

And that damnable lawyer of Emma's. Regina had no idea who the hell he really was, and now more than ever Regina started to care. Was he once an ally of Snow or her husband's? Where had he come from, and how was it that in a curse where her happy ending was assured, where the cards were meant to be stacked in her favor, this man rose up like some damn knight in shining armor?

If he hadn't been around, Emma would've had to turn to Gold or to Albert Spencer. With them, Emma would have at least been slowed down or made to pay in some way. This...Raymond Fitzroy managed to save her. He had managed to find out that Henry's adoption wasn't exactly...legal, and now it had come back to bite her.

She was angry enough that this man made her lose her son, but she was also worried because he was representing Mary Margaret.

At the very least, he was competent. At the very worst, he was a dangerous foe.

Regina had to get rid of him, but how? If she killed him, it would immediately raise suspicion. Maybe she could make him lose his license, but how would that work? And even if it did, would it happen before he could potentially get a jury to find Mary Margaret not guilty.

Regina felt the walls close around her. This was not good. She was slowly losing everything she'd fought and killed for. Her power. Her son. Her curse.

The only thing she had left was her revenge against Snow White, and even that was slipping through her fingers.

Regina forced herself to think. She had to do something, and soon. She would have to get rid of Mary Margaret somehow, and before her trial date was set.

Regina knew she was getting desperate, but at this point, whatever got Mary Margaret out of her life would be fine by her.

Only then could she focus enough to get revenge on her new foes.

* * *

"Alright, kid." Emma announced as she saw the time on the clock. "It's twenty minutes before bed."

"Okay." Henry said as he read his storybook.

Emma took a step, and then faltered when she nearly stepped on Copper, who stared up at her as he wagged his tail. "Hey, uh, dog. You hungry or something? I mean, I already fed you."

Then, Copper shot around Emma's feet, and then bit the bottom of her pajama pants before tugging on it.

"You want play time?" Emma asked unenthusiastically. It had been a very long day, and she just didn't have the energy for Copper.

She then looked over at Henry, and got an idea. "Hey Henry, how about you play with the dog while I make a call?"

"Okay." Henry said, putting his book away to grab Copper's toy. "Come here, Copper, come here."

Copper barked excitedly, and Henry began to play fetch with the dog.

She watched them, and she couldn't help but think about the _second_ key they'd found with Mary Margaret. Again, they weren't able to catch who did it, and it was getting ridiculous. Someone wanted to get Mary Margaret out of jail badly, and although Emma suspected it was Regina, she couldn't prove it. There were no prints on the keys, and there was nothing that conclusively tied it to Regina.

Trying to stop her growing headache and think of more pleasant things, Emma pulled out her cell phone, and dialed Killian's number.

Not long after, he picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Killian, it's me." Emma said, watching Henry play with the dog. "I just wanted to know if we were still good for Saturday."

"I think so- Hold on." Killian said before he said something to someone in the background, likely the girls, before he turned his attention back. "Sorry. Unless something comes up, I think we're good. I'm going to ask Dada if she can babysit just in case Sister Astrid is busy."

"Good." Emma said with an excited little smile.

Copper then barked as Henry threw the ball again.

Killian chuckled. "How's life with a dog?"

"Messy." Emma said. "And exhausting. Copper left me a little 'present' a while ago, and I had to throw it in the trash."

"Aw." Killian said sympathetically. "I won't lie. The first few weeks are, well, a hassle. And it won't be easy after that, but you learn to adapt." Killian then paused before saying, "I managed to visit Mary Margaret. She seemed, well, down, which given the situation is to be expected."

"Yeah." Emma said as her mood dampened. "She's holding on though."

"She has all of our support." Killian promised. "She is not staying in there."

"Agreed." Emma said. "For now, Graham and I have to be as impartial as we can. That's how we help Mary Margaret. Ray's probably the only person who can argue for him outside of potential character witnesses."

"He can add my name to the list." Killian said. "And probably Phoebe's."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked curiously.

Killian then explained what happened when Phoebe overheard some parents at the park speaking ill of Mary Margaret.

"Wooow." Emma said, drawing out the word.

"Something's going on with her." Killian said. "She's never shown that much anger before, and she's not opening up. I've tried talking to her, I've tried disciplining her, but nothing's helped. I'm-" Killian then lowered his voice to a whisper, likely to prevent Phoebe from listening in. "I'm thinking of taking her to Archie, but I just don't know."

"Wait." Emma said. "Maybe I should try talking to her. I mean, maybe talking to someone with a badge might help?"

"I don't know." Killian said. "It's worth a shot."

"Yeah." Emma said. "Just give me a time and place when you're ready."

"Thank you." Killian said. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Emma replied.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I've got to get them to bed." Killian said.

"No problem." Emma said as she glanced at the clock. "It's almost time for us too. See you tomorrow?"

"Hopefully." Killian replied, and she could just imagine the smile on his face.

The two then said goodnight to each other, and hung up the phone.

"Uh oh." Henry said. "Mom, Copper peed on the floor."

Emma gave a quiet sigh. Keeping Killian's warning in mind, she hoped that housebreaking Copper would come to pass soon.

* * *

Mary Margaret had gone to bed early, as she had just been too emotionally drained to remain away. It was only about 9 PM or so when she decided to fall asleep.

Feeling herself coming back to conscious, Mary Margaret kept her eyes closed as she laid in her bed. Well, her prison cot, but all the same she was still trying to will herself to sleep. She was having a fairly nice dream - she was in a nice forest somewhere, and she was just walking, and now it was hard to breathe.

Mary Margaret took in a deep breath through her nose, and smelled something sweet.

Wait, sweet? Mary Margaret opened her eyes, but something was covering her face.

It took her another second to realize that it was cloth, and that whatever smelled so sweet was making her unnaturally sleepy.

Mary Margaret's arms shot out, trying to rip the fabric away, but hands pushed it harder against her face, muffling her shouts that slowly became more and more quiet.

Mary Margaret's vision began to fade to black, and before unconsciousness totally consumed her, her last thought was wondering who would do this to her.

* * *

Jefferson's eyes shot open, and he stared at the ceiling of his room, reminding himself that he was in Storybrooke, in the Land Without Magic. If he stepped out into the hall of this house, he wouldn't find a modest little home where Priscilla was already awake with Grace in her arms. He'd find himself alone, and with no one to turn to.

Well, no one he could speak the truth with.

Sitting up, Jefferson allowed his mind to turn to Grace and Priscilla instead of fighting it. He even allowed his mind to turn to Dada, whose real name was Rapunzel, and the wretched feeling he had over not being able to be truthful to any of them.

He had promised Priscilla that he'd stay out of the criminal life for Grace, but he couldn't.

He had promised Grace that he would return in time for tea, but he didn't.

He had promised Dada that he cared about her, but he couldn't protect her.

And certainly not for the first time, he just wished he could talk to them as they were. Even though Priscilla was dead and gone, he ached to hold his baby girl in his arms again.

He remembered hearing that Emma had gotten custody of Henry, and he couldn't help but feel jealousy after that.

Every fiber in Jefferson's body wanted to find some way to make Emma believe, to make her realize the truth so they could put an end to this hell, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. She was as skeptical as anyone he'd ever met. Worse still, she would have no reason to believe him. He had no proof.

Furthermore, he kept thinking about Dada, and how he didn't want to mess things up further between them. She was still concerned over what happened the night she 'got drunk', the night Gold made her remember but then allowed her to forget. She knew he was lying to her somehow, but he couldn't tell her the truth, and he knew it was slowly driving them apart.

His doorbell rang.

 _Who's that?_ , Jefferson thought suspiciously as more insistent rings sounded out. Jefferson quickly got out of bed, put on his clothes and his scarf, and speed walked until he was at the door.

Once he answered the door, he immediately slammed it shut once he saw it was Regina. He was about to turn around and ignore her until she shouted something.

"Paige!" She called out through the door.

"Dammit." Jefferson whispered as curiosity got the better of him, and he answered the door with a glare. "Her name is Grace. Now what the hell do you want?"

"I want to show you something." Regina said with a haggard look on her face.

"The last time I went somewhere with you, I lost my daughter." Jefferson shot back. "Now go back home or to hell. I don't care. Just leave."

Jefferson tried to close the door again, but her hand shot out to stop it.

"You're going to want to see what I have in the trunk of my car." Regina said. "If you don't, then I may pay another visit to your girlfriend."

"Leave her out of this." He nearly growled.

Regina smiled a little, but it didn't contain her usual confidence. No, there was more...almost mania in it. "Then you should come see what I got you."

Knowing he would regret this, Jefferson cautiously followed her, leaving the door open just in case he needed to make a speedy get away.

Regina led him to the back of her car, and opened the trunk.

"What the hell did you do?" Jefferson asked in surprise as he saw that in the trunk was an unconscious, bound, gagged, and blindfolded Mary Margaret. Jefferson looked at Regina, "What the-"

"She was taking too long to leave her cell." Regina said in the way of answer. "I need you to keep her here for a while."

"Like hell I will." Jefferson retorted incredulously. "What could possibly make you think I'd ever help you again?"

Regina looked at him and said, "Because if you ever want to see your daughter again, or be with your lover, you'll help me."

Jefferson glared at her. "The last time you promised to help me - gave your word in fact - I ended up in Wonderland with the Queen of Hearts."

"Well, she's dead now, so you don't have to worry." Regina said flippantly. However, once she realized that Jefferson seemed angrier, Regina's patience, already thin at this point, began to run out. "Listen to me carefully, Jefferson. I have had a pretty bad few days-"

"Oh poor you." He snapped.

"Listen I said." She snapped back with a glare. "I'm tired. I'm done dealing with Mary Margaret, and your precious Paige could end up somewhere very unpleasant if you choose to cross me now."

"What did you say?" Jefferson asked dangerously.

"You heard me." Regina challenged. "Enough people have been screwing with me lately, and if you decide to add yourself to the list, I promise that Paige and Dada are going to suffer for it."

Unfortunately, Jefferson didn't doubt her. She wasn't above hurting the loved ones of people who defied her. Anyone who even tangentially helped her foes suffered for it. He remembered the rumors that she'd once wiped out an entire village because Snow White had stayed there.

Her power here was waning, yes, but she could still do untold damage until then.

"Think of it this way." Regina said. "Either you help me and I can help reunite you with your dear Paige-"

"Grace." Jefferson corrected tersely.

Regina paused before saying, "Either you help me and I can help reunite you with your dear _Grace_ , and maybe even throw in your precious library assistant, or you can screw with me and lose them both. How's that for a deal?"

Jefferson glared at her with all the hatred he could muster, but he knew that she was serious. He didn't think she would honor the deal, but maybe...maybe he could turn this to his advantage. Maybe he could say yes now, and buy some time until he could figure out something else.

Okay, he could do that. He could just buy himself time before Regina presumably came back to kill Mary Margaret herself. If she left with the woman now, who knows if she'd come back at all.

"Fine." Jefferson said, and he managed to stop himself from throwing up at the triumphant look on her face.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Regina said, clearly relieved. "You can take her now."

Jefferson gave her an incredulous look before reaching in and picking up Mary Margaret. Regina soon closed the trunk, got in her car, and drove away.

Jefferson tightened his grip on Mary Margaret - on Snow White - and as he walked into his house with her, he whispered, "If I don't figure something out, and fast, we are both screwed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm going to level with you - this custody thing was supposed to take place over the course of several chapters. It's possibly still going to happen that way, but it's totally different now. I was in the process of writing it the way I originally envisioned until I remembered key things in canon where I was like "Wait, this is a possible slam dunk for Emma".
> 
> Now keep in mind, I am not a lawyer and I do not claim to have a comprehensive knowledge of the law. I just did what I learned from Google.
> 
> The upside is that yay Henry gets to live with Emma barring anything happening.
> 
> And yet now poor Mary Margaret has been kidnapped, just not the way in canon, and in the next chapter I get to do a rewrite of my favorite episode in season 1 - Hat Trick.
> 
> What did you think of the other things that happened in this chapter?
> 
> Let me know what you think in the box down below!
> 
> See you same time next week!


	28. Mad World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Mary Margaret is held hostage, Jefferson panics, and during a search Emma is forced to face some uncomfortable, unbelievable truths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing from canon. That is all.
> 
> Again, this chapter came about after a bit of a dry spell in terms of writing, but whew! I am glad I got this done in time!
> 
> The thing is that I haven't been feeling at the top of my game lately, and this chapter took longer than expected, so I'm going to take a little break. Don't worry. I'll still keep trying to write, and hopefully I'll get a few chapters done so that we may continue our usual Friday special. I've loved being able to give you weekly updates, but I feel like I need to slow things down on my end in order to catch up...if that makes sense.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left a comment or a kudos on previous chapters. 
> 
> As always, special thanks to Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit most of this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

_February 28, 2012_

Mary Margaret's head was heavy, and a few moments later she realized that it was because it was her head was hanging down.

 _Hanging down?_ , she thought blearily. _How...hanging from where? Where…_

Mary Margaret's eyes cracked open, just a bit, and the first thing she saw was her lap.

Mary Margaret was confused. _How...what…_

Mary Margaret raised her head, wincing at the strain on her neck, and she realized that she was sitting somehow. Mary Margaret rolled her shoulders, and that's when she felt something on her wrists. Blinking away the haziness in her eyes, Mary Margaret looked over and saw that her wrists were tied with rope to the arms of a chair.

This startled Mary Margaret enough to successfully banish all of the haziness from her mind. Mary Margaret saw that both of her wrists were tied to the arms of the chair, while both of her ankles were tied to the legs. She was no longer in her prison cell, but instead in an unfamiliar room that looked like it belonged in someone's home.

Mary Margaret tried to say something, and only then did she realize that there was a gag in her mouth. That didn't stop her from trying to shout, to hope that someone would hear her and come help.

The shouts turned to screams as soon as the door opened, and when she saw who it was, she was nearly struck silent.

"Easy, easy." Jefferson told her, raising his hands up in a calming gesture, but Mary Margaret simply stared at him in disbelief. Jefferson moved closer to her and said, "I'm going to take the gag out, alright?"

Mary Margaret nodded quickly, and when Jefferson pulled the gag out, she screamed, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Jefferson winced at the volume of her scream with a guilty look on his face, and he eventually shouted over her, "There's no one around!" Only when Mary Margaret stopped screaming did he say, "Looks, we are in the middle of the woods, I have no neighbors, and I don't like this anymore than you do."

"What?" Mary Margaret asked incredulously. After taking a few breaths she said, "Y-You're Jefferson, right? You're Dada's boyfriend." When he frowned even more guilty, she added, "Listen, I don't know why you have me here, b-but you can let me go. I'll just go back to jail, a-and I promise, I _swear_ I won't tell anyone."

Jefferson sighed as he rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I don't have a choice." He said regretfully. "Honestly, I don't. I'm just...I have to figure something out, otherwise my daughter and Dada will be in danger."

"Why?" Mary Margaret asked, wondering just what the hell he was talking about. She and Dada hadn't talked much about the latter's love life, but she'd never heard mention of a daughter before. "Please, just...think about Dada. Would she want you to do this?"

"Look, I'm just-" Jefferson started before cutting himself off and he started pacing the room. When he spoke again, it sounded like he was talking more to himself. "I just need more time. I just- I just have to figure something out. I just…"

Jefferson looked at Mary Margaret with a regretful look before saying, "You have to stay here. I'm sorry."

"Wait, wait." Mary Margaret started saying as he left the room. "Wait! Don't leave me in here! Please!"

Jefferson closed the door behind him, listening to Mary Margaret plead, and Jefferson hid his face in his hands in shame. Shit, shit, _shit_. Shit he had to figure something out. He had to find some way to protect his daughter and Dada, but if he got this wrong.

Jefferson stepped away from the room, desperately trying to think over his next move. 

* * *

Emma's phone began to ring, and she saw that the caller was Graham. She saw the time - 10: 13 PM - she quickly answered it so as not to have the sound wake Henry or Copper.

"Hello?" Emma whispered in greeting.

"Please tell me she's with you." Graham pleaded over the phone.

"Who?" Emma asked, though she got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Mary Margaret, who do you think?" Graham said. "She's not in her cell, so please tell me she's with you."

"No, of course she's not." Emma furiously whispered back as she began to panic. "What the hell happened?"

Graham said, "I had to leave the station because there was a disturbance, and when I got back her cell door is wide open."

"Crap." Emma said. "If anyone realizes she escaped-"

"She's screwed." Graham surmised. "Call Ray. Let him know what's going on. I've, fuck, I've got to handle Declan."

"Okay, yeah, got it." Emma said hurriedly before she ended the call, and quickly called Ray.

"Hello?" Ray greeted.

"Ray, Mary Margaret's gone." Emma said, getting straight to point.

"She's _what?_ " Ray asked in surprise.

Emma quickly relayed what Ray had told her.

"Oh, god." Ray said. "Okay, um...okay this is not good. Wherever she is, we have to get her back before anyone realizes she's gone."

"I can find her." Emma said before adding, "By myself."

Ray started, "Emma-"

Emma interrupted, "If I caught, you and Graham will be in the clear. You'll be of more use to me and Mary Margaret then."

Ray argued, "But if you get caught, you can kiss your claim to custody of Henry goodbye. Judges don't look too kindly to aiding and abetting a fugitive, you know. At least let me call one of the guys."

"No." Emma said as she stamped down her own concerns. It would be a blow to have gotten Henry only to lose him again. Still, she couldn't let anyone else get caught up in this. "Killian can't know about this. If he gets caught helping Mary Margaret, it could screw up his fostering Phoebe and Mai. Graham's already risking his foster Declan by not saying anything."

"What about Henry?" Ray asked her. "You want me to look after him?"

Emma looked over at Henry's sleeping form, and agreed. She soon hung up the phone, and began to quietly assemble things Henry might need while he stayed over at Ray's in a duffle bag. She also put things Copper would need in a bag, Once she got her shoes and jacket, she went over to gently shake Henry's shoulder.

"Henry, Henry wake up." Emma said quietly.

"Mm." Henry hummed sleepily as she kept his eyes closed. "Five more minutes."

"It's not time for school." Emma told him. "But I need you to get up so that I can take you to Ray's?"

"Why?" Henry asked, finally cracking his eyes open.

"I can't explain now." Emma said. "It's just really important that I find someone. Put on your shoes and coat, I'll get Copper."

Although Henry continued asking questions, he did as he was told, and after Emma got Copper, the three of them left the loft, though Emma had to carry the _very_ sleepy puppy to the Bug.

It didn't take a lot of time to get Henry and Copper to Ray's apartment, but she then learned why Ray and Dada complained about the stairs in the apartment so much.

Henry seemed excited to have an impromptu sleepover with a friend, and after hugging Emma he went inside with Copper and the duffle bag. Ray warned Emma to be careful, and Emma heeded his warning before leaving.

The first thing she needed to do was check the backroads. If Mary Margaret did leave on her own, then she might have tried escaping through one of the backgrounds in town, or even through the woods. After all, that might impede someone's attempts of a search. Emma drove her Bug on road that wounds through the woods, headlights on, looking around to see if Mary Margaret was around.

"Dammit, where are you?" Emma asked herself, hoping that she would just see Mary Margaret and, however reluctantly, take her friend back to jail. At least she'd managed to avoid being seen by potential witnesses on the-

Emma gasped as she realized that she'd become so distracted that she'd taken her eyes of the road, and she swerved her car to avoid a got. Slamming on the breaks, she parked the car and immediately went to check on the person she nearly hit. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She went to help the person up, and found that he looked familiar. "Hey, you're...you're Jefferson, right?"

"Yeah." Jefferson said. "I think I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Emma asked.

"I'm fine." Jefferson reiterated. "I'm not used to sharing the road with cars so late. You're Emma, right, the Deputy?"

"Yeah." Emma confirmed. "I met you at Dada's party. You're her boyfriend right?"

Jefferson nodded before asking, "What, uh, what brings you out here in the middle of the night?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about." Emma lied. "I'm just looking for a lost dog. My roommate's."

Jefferson looked at her surprised. "Oh yeah. Dada mentioned something about Mary Margaret getting a dog. Want me to help you find it?"

"I can manage on my own." Emma said, hoping to deter him from asking too many questions.

"Well...I hope you find it." Jefferson replied before he began to walk, though he was visibly limping.

Guiltily Emma said, "Oh, you _are_ hurt."

"No, I just twisted my ankle...I think." Jefferson replied. "I live just a mile down the road, I'll make it okay."

Unwilling to let this guy walk a mile with a twisted ankle, Emma said, "No, let me drive you. I insist."

Jefferson hesitated before accepting her offer.

"Good." Emma said, knowing that once she got him home, she'd go straight back to looking for Mary Margaret. As she got into the driver's side of the Bug, she tried to joke, "I'm glad you're mostly okay. It'd be kind of awkward to tell Dada I almost ran over her boyfriend."

"I can only imagine." Jefferson replied, but something seemed off about his response.

Pushing whatever suspicious feeling she had in favor of focusing on getting this guy home, so she could get to Mary Margaret, Emma began to drive.

* * *

For some reason, Killian began to worry. It was getting pretty late, and he had contemplated turning in, but for some reason he was just on edge. He didn't know why. After all, it had been a pretty good day. Emma got custody, and Henry and Mai had made up. Killian even thought that he'd saved enough money so that he could make his payments next month.

And yet something didn't feel right, and he had no idea why.

He heard someone sniffling, and from his place on the couch he saw that Mai had left the room, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Nearby, Lady remained asleep on her little bed.

"Mai, what is it?" Killian asked her.

"I had a bad dream." Mai said, and when Killian checked, he was relieved to find that she hadn't wet herself.

"Come here." Killian encouraged her, and soon enough she was in his lap and in his arms.

Apparently the nightmare was about some reptile man chasing her around a house, and she was looking for Phoebe and Killian but couldn't find them.

"It's alright." Killian said quietly as he gestured around the room. "See? No reptile men here. Just you, me, Phoebe, and Lady. It was just a bad dream."

Mai nodded her head before burrowing herself further into his arms. "I'm scared."

"Ah, no need to be scared." Killian told her. "Still, what can I do to make you feel better?"

"Can you...can you sing me the song?" Mai asked. "The one you sang at the hospital?"

"Of course." Killian said before dramatically, yet quietly, clearing his throat, causing Mai to smile a little. He then began to softly sing, " _I see the moon, and the moon sees me / Shining through the leaves of the old oak tree / Oh, let the light that shines on me / Shine on the ones I love._ "

Mai began humming to the tune of the song as Killian softly sang some more, and as he began to gently rock her in his arms, he saw that her body was becoming more relaxed, and her eyelids began to droop.

After singing the some a few times, Mai was sleepy enough to not protest as Killian picked her up, and put her back to bed next to a thankfully sleeping Phoebe. It was nice to see that they were both getting some sleep.

"Goodnight, Daddy." Mai said as Killian tucked her in. "I love you."

Killian stilled for a moment, wondering if she'd ever said that to him before, and being filled with loving warmth all the same. "I love you too." Killian said before bending down to kiss her forward, gently patting the covers around her before quietly stepping out of the room, and closing the door.

Killian silently padded back to the couch, glad that he was able to coax Mai back to sleep, but somehow finding that the worry he'd previously felt hadn't dissipated, only quieted.

Killian laid back on the couch, hoping that he'd managed to get to sleep, and wondering if the worry would still be there.

* * *

Emma had to admit it - Jefferson's house looked nice, at least one on the outside. Also, it looked _big_. As she parked in front of it, she had to wonder how many people they could fit in there.

"This is your house?" Emma asked impressed as they exited the place. "It looks more like a hotel! You must have a huge family."

"Nope." Jefferson said. "It's just me."

Emma then noticed a lack of a car besides her, and as they approached the front door she asked, "Do youalways walk to and from the town?"

"Kind of have to without a car." Jefferson commented as he opened the door, let her come inside, and closed it behind them after turning the lock. "Let me make you some tea before you go."

"I really should go." Emma said. "I kind of need to find M- my roommate's dog soon. Just a puppy, you know?"

"I do." Jefferson said. "It'd probably be easier if you had an idea of where to look, right? I have some maps you can look at."

He did have a point there, which is why Emma acquiesced to his suggestion. Emma stayed in the living room, looking around to find that the interior of the home was pretty beautiful as well, and spacious. The loft was fairly spacious on its own, but with her, Henry, Copper, and soon Mary Margaret (after they found her innocent) living there, it was feeling less spacious than it once did.

Soon enough, Jefferson came back with a tray of tea and some maps. After setting the tea tray down, Jefferson unrolled the maps on a table nearby. "I'm a bit of an amateur cartographer. Mapping the area is a hobby. Maybe this will help you track down your dog."

To her surprise, the maps were surprisingly detailed "Wow."

"What's the dog's name?" Jefferson asked as he served the tea, and Emma watched him intently, having learned from a lifetime of suspicion to watch when someone served her something, so see if they put anything in it.

"Copper." Emma said, hoping that with his twisted ankle he wouldn't volunteer to help her find him.

"What's the breed?" Jefferson asked curiously as he took a sip of his tea.

"Bloodhound." Emma replied as she took a sip as well, feeling more secure once she saw him take a drink. The tea tasted fine, but it was the cup that seemed...off somehow. From where it connected to her mouth, it tasted kind of weirdly sweet and tangy. She kind of remembered mugs at home tasting the same way when the dishwasher was acting up, so maybe that's why.

Emma looked back at the maps, taking another sip as she said, "Well, Route 6 runs the boundary of the forest, so I should be able to make some headway."

"Yeah." Jefferson said, and he seemed troubled by something.

"Something up?" Emma asked him. "You, uh, kind of mad at me for almost running you over?"

"No, that's not it." Jefferson said as he rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm just...worried about my daughter."

 _Daughter?_ , Emma thought, trying to recall if Dada ever mentioned him having a daughter. Then again, Dada was fairly private about her personal life, and Emma wasn't one to pry unless it was necessary or for a job. Besides, she was feeling kind of sleepy, and she chalked it up to how long the day had been and the late hour, so maybe her memory wasn't so great right now. She said, "I didn't know you had a daughter. What grade is she in?"

"5th grade." Jefferson responded, this time not looking at Emma.

"5th grade, huh?" Emma replied, "My kid's in...my kid's…"

"Something wrong?" Jefferson asked as he finally looked at her.

Emma's hand loosened as her mind felt fuzzy, and she heard the distant echo of something hitting the ground. "I'm just, uh, feeling a little…" She felt her legs beginning to wobble.

"Sorry." Jefferson said as he caught her, and took her over to the couch. "Sit here."

"Dizzy." Emma told him as she could hardly stay awake.

"There you go." Jefferson said somberly before he began to walk away.

Emma had enough awareness to realize that he was walking just fine now. "Your limp." Even as her mind began to shut down, Emma realized that she was in deep trouble right now. "Why?"

"This will work itself out." Jefferson said, his voice a far away echo as darkness consumed Emma's mind.

* * *

_February 29, 2012_

It was after shortly midnight that Ray got a call. Careful not to disturb the sleeping kids (and the puppy curled on top of Henry's sleeping form on the couch), Ray answered it. "Hello?"

"Have you heard from Emma?" Killian asked her.

Surprised, Ray asked, "What?"

"Graham called me and told me what happened." Killian told him, causing Ray to sigh. "He hasn't heard from Emma yet, and neither have I. Listen, I don't have a good feeling about this. Shouldn't Emma have come back by now?"

Ray knew that searches took time, especially since Graham was doing his very best to guard the station so that no one would happen enough Mary Margaret's empty cell. However, it wasn't just his faith in Emma's abilities that had him hoping this would be resolved quickly. He knew about the key in Mary Margaret's cell, and he knew someone was trying to break her out, but everyone in their group swore they didn't have anything to do with it.

"Emma would've called ahead if she thought it would take this long." Killian insisted.

"She didn't want us involved." Ray said. "She said that we have too much to lose."

"And she doesn't?" Killian challenged before pausing to lower his voice further. "Graham and I have tried calling her, but she doesn't answer. Her phone goes straight to voicemail. Something's not right, I can feel it."

"You think she might be in trouble?" Ray asked concernedly.

"I don't know." Killian admitted. "If anyone learns that she helped Mary Margaret, she might lose custody of Henry." Killian then paused before saying, "I'm going to help."

"Wait, wait." Ray said. "At least bring your girls over here. Call Graham and tell him to bring Declan too. I'll call David and Freddie."

"Okay." Killian said. "Any idea where to start looking?"

"No." Ray said before an idea dawned on him. "But I know just who to ask."

After they hung up, instead of calling David and Freddie first, Ray dialed another number.

Thankfully, she picked up after a few rings. "Hello?"

"Ruby, it's Ray." He said.

"You know what time it is?" Ruby asked sleepily.

"I know, and I wouldn't call unless it was important." He said anxiously. "Ruby, I need you to do me a _huge_ favor."

* * *

Emma woke up with a dull headache. Her body was stiff, and the sounds around her seem muffled, and yet she could distantly hear something. It was an insistent noise that only got louder as Emma came to consciousness.

"Emma." Someone said quietly. "Emma wake up. Emma."

Emma groaned as she finally opened her eyes, and upon realizing that she was leaning forward somehow, she straightened her back.

"Oh thank god." Someone said gratefully. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Emma asked slowly as she tried to move. Unfortunately, she soon discovered that not only was she sitting, but she was tied down to whatever she was sitting on. With a start, Emma tried to get out of it, but she realized that her wrists were tied to the chair she was sitting on, and her ankles were tied around the legs.

"Emma?" The voice asked from next to Emma.

She turned her head, and to her astonishment found a frightened Mary Margaret.

"What?" Emma asked once more, this time in utter confusion. "What are you-" That's when she remembered the last thing she saw before she was knocked out. "Jefferson. You didn't run away. He took you."

"I think so." Mary Margaret whispered, glancing at the closed door of the room. "I was in my cell. I woke up, and someone put something over my face and I passed out. When I woke up, I was here."

"What does he want?" Emma asked.

"I don't know." Mary Margaret said. "When I woke up, he said kept saying he didn't have a choice. That his daughter was in danger. He gagged me before he left for a while, and then he brought you back here and ungagged me."

It was then that Emma noticed there was a piece of cloth hanging around Mary Margaret's neck, which she knew was what had been used to gag her.

Just then, the door opened, and Jefferson stepped through.

"Let us go." Emma said sternly as she quickly thought up a lie. "I was with a group before I met up with you. They'll find us any second."

"I don't think so." Jefferson said, not looking at each of them, and strangely looking as stressed out as Mary Margaret and Emma felt. "I think they only just realized that you should've gotten back by now. They're organizing, but my house is pretty out of the way."

"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked him.

"I told you." Jefferson said. "People I love are in danger."

"If they are, then let us help." Emma insisted. "I'm a cop. I can protect them."

"From Regina?" Jefferson questioned before shaking his head. "No, there's some things she'll do that you can't protect them from."

Emma looked at Mary Margaret, each equally stunned by this accusation.

"R-" Mary Margaret started as she looked at Jefferson, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Regina put you up to this?"

"She made it very clear that she didn't want you coming back to town." Jefferson replied.

"Why?" Mary Margaret asked, her nerves getting the better of her. "Why would she want that?"

"She hates you." Jefferson said. "Because of what she blames you for in the Enchanted Forest."

 _What?_ , Emma thought incredulously before it sunk in. "Wait, you read my kid's storybook?"

Jefferson sighed exasperatedly. "I knew you wouldn't get it. You still don't believe."

"Believe what?" Mary Margaret asked. "What's going on?"

"She threatened people I love." Jefferson snapped. "She threatened my daughter Grace and Dada. If I don't help you, she'll hurt them."

Okay, people have been afraid of Regina before, and she wasn't above really hurting people to get her way, but that's not what struck Emma.

Out of all the things Jefferson could've said, why would he ever bring up Henry's story?

That's when something hit Emma. "Were you the one that took his book? Did you leave it at my car?"

"I've never read it." Jefferson answered. "And I'm not the one who took it, and I don't know who did."

"You had to have." Emma insisted, trying to wrap her brain around this. "How else could you know-"

"Because I lived it." Jefferson retorted, hit temper running hot. "I lived in the Enchanted Forest, along with everyone else here except Henry. I'm one of the few people who got to keep my memories, but I was stuck in this damn house for _twenty-eight years_." He walked forward and leaned over to be eye level with Emma, and there was a crazed look in his eyes. "Do you have any idea what that's like? Being trapped in some unknown world, unable to talk to anyone for years until you got here, and having to wait for you to figure out the truth so that I can escape this nightmare and get my daughter back. _Do you?_ "

Emma did her best not to flinch when he raised his voice in emphasis.

Jefferson continued. "The only people who know the truth are Henry, Regina, and Gold, and I can't exactly commiserate with them now, can I?"

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked. "What does Gold know?"

Something about her question threw off Jefferson, and after a long moment he asked, "You want to know what Gold knows?"

"Yeah." Emma said instinctively.

Something seemed to dawn on Jefferson. "You know, you're pretty well known as a skeptic around here. And unless I'm mistaken, you haven't tried to say I was wrong or crazy this entire time. Which means...you know, don't you?"

"I don't know anything." Emma denied, even as a part of her urged her to think so, told her that it made too much sense. Her mind kept conjuring up the image of those glowing, beating hearts in those chests.

"You _do_." Jefferson insisted. "You know something."

"I don't." Emma lied. "Look, I get it, Regina isn't above hurting, but that doesn't meant that any of this is because of a curse."

"Lie all you want, but I know you know." Jefferson said with something like hope in his eyes. He then straightened up and took a step back. "Or at least, you suspect something. And given everything I've seen and heard about you, that could've only happened unless you saw some proof. What was it?"

Emma remained silent.

Jefferson reiterated, " _What was it?_ "

"What does it matter?" Emma shot back. "Look, even if I thought this curse existed, I wouldn't even know how to break it.

Jefferson looked at her contemplatively. "Something happened." He said, though it seemed mostly to himself. "Something happened. I...I need time to think."

Jefferson then left the room in a hurry.

After his footsteps faded away, Mary Margaret whispered to her, "What was that all about? Why was he talking about Henry's book?"

"I don't know." Emma said, though for some reason it felt dishonest of her. Whatever Jefferson believed was irrelevant. "First things first - we need to get out of here."

* * *

"It's freezing." Ruby said through chattering teeth as the group gathered in the woods, sending a tired glance at Ray, who had managed to get her out of the inn without somehow waking the ever vigilant Mrs. Lucas. The nearby road in the woods was only illuminated by the headlights of the cars they brought with them.

Killian had to admit that he was feeling pretty cold too, and looking at the other members of the group, they felt much the same. David and Freddie were practically huddled with each other, and Missy - who had refused to be parted from Freddie without yowling unhappily - was shivering from her place in Freddie's jacket. Or at least that's what Killian assumed when since only her tiny head was visible above the top of the jacket's zipper.

They had to leave the kids at Ray's place, and Phoebe decided that she would be in charge. It worried Killian to leave the kids alone, even with - or especially because - a teenager at the helm, but it couldn't be helped. They couldn't exactly call in a babysitter at this hour without raising suspicion, and the last thing they needed right now was to call attention to themselves. If worse came to worst, they could have to get help.

Killian just hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

Graham pulled on his jacket tighter as he told Ruby, "Thank you for helping us."

"Just as long as Granny never finds out about this." Ruby replied jokingly. She then looked around and pointed at something on the road. "You see that? Those are tire tracks from Emma's car, so we know that she came this way."

Graham looked around and asked, "Are we still assuming that Mary Margaret left on her own?"

"Why do you ask?" David asked him.

Graham answered, "Because I'm not seeing any footprints. But... " He then pointed to something else on the road. "Those are another set of tracks, and this road isn't well traveled."

"Maybe Mary Margaret had access to a car?" Freddie suggested, though he didn't seem too sure of it.

"We can ask her that when we find them." Killian said, that uneasy feeling in his stomach not going away. He just wanted to find Emma and Mary Margaret, and then get his girls and Lady back from Ray's place before anyone was the wiser.

"We will." Graham promised. He then looked at his watch and said. "It's 12:45. We have a little over seven hours before the station officially opens up, but let's try to find them before so we have time to get back. Call if you find anything."

Everyone then split up - David with Freddie, Ray with Ruby, and Killian with Graham.

Graham urged Killian to get in his car. "We'll go up the road. Maybe Emma had the right idea of going this way to look for Mary Margaret."

"Meanwhile the others will see if Mary Margaret took a different path into the woods." Killian surmised as he buckled in.

"Exactly." Graham said as he started driving the car up the road.

 _Don't worry, Swan,_ Killian thought as they drove on the dark and lonely road. _We're coming._

* * *

Jefferson listened in on Mary Margaret and Emma shuffling around in the room. By the sounds of it, they were trying to move the chairs around, likely looking for something that would free them. Thankfully, Jefferson had had the idea to clear the room of anything sharp either of them could've used when he put Mary Margaret in there.

Jefferson sighed quietly. He thought that his time as a con man and a bad father was as bad as it could get, but now he was holding two women hostage. He wasn't a saint before, but he was certainly getting worse now.

 _I don't have a choice_ , Jefferson told himself. _If I don't do this, Regina will hurt Grace and Dada. They're the only good parts of my life._

He then guiltily thought, _I can't get them killed like I did with Priscilla._

Still, that didn't stamp out the desire to set them free, to warn them of what Regina was like, but would they even listen?

 _Maybe?_ , he thought hopefully. _They both have reason to want Regina out of the way. Not the least because it would solve Emma's custody thing for good, and it would act as payback for the accusation Regina sent that cost Mary Margaret her job._

Mary Margaret. That wasn't even the woman's real name, but that was the person Jefferson was keeping in his house.

"Think, Jefferson, think." He whispered to himself. There had to be someway he could convince them. He couldn't keep them forever. It wasn't just immoral and highly illegal, it was dangerous. Regina was going to come back eventually, and she might try to kill Snow White for good. For another, Emma needed to break the curse. What's more, eventually more and more people will realize that the women are both missing, and start looking for them.

 _Okay, don't panic_ , he told himself as he felt fear cause cold needles prick under his skin.

Despite how much it hurt right now to think about them, Jefferson couldn't help but imagine Grace and Dada, or Rapunzel.

Jefferson only knew Dada as Dada, not as Rapunzel.

_Whoever I am - Dada or Rapunzel, hell both of them - I still care about you. I lo-_

Jefferson winced at the memory. He had failed to protect her once from Gold, he couldn't do that again with Regina.

That didn't mean he could keep being Regina's lacky without her screwing him over again.

Maybe Grace and Dada would have helped him. They would certainly be more inclined than Emma and Mary Margaret, but the former two didn't have a clue what was going on.

Unlike Emma.

She denied it, but Jefferson knew that look in her eyes. She had some inkling that something was amiss. It wasn't just the usual suspicion about everything. She knew something, but how? What in the world could've convinced her of that?

And why wasn't it enough to get her to admit it? Did she not want Mary Margaret to know? If so, why?

Questions whirled around Jefferson's mind, though one was the most predominant - what exactly did Emma know?

* * *

"You see anything?" David asked as he guided his car along the ground of the woods were he could. The trees were quite spacious from each other, even if the terrain wasn't the kindest to his tires.

"Not yet." Freddie said form the passenger side of the truck. Missy was now on his lap, and even she was trying to lift herself up to see through the window, as if she was looking as well.

David sighed. Some time had passed since they started searching, and with each minute that passed he felt himself become more anxious.

He had briefly gone into the woods before, a failed attempt to search for Kathryn, because with all of the insanity that had happened lately his mind had become just so bogged down.

Kathryn's body hadn't been found, and now Mary Margaret was missing.

He hadn't missed the implication Freddie had unwittingly made about Mary Margaret getting in a car. If she did, then she was way ahead of them, but while she was amazing in a lot of ways, she wasn't a thief. She likely didn't just take a car, and he was hard pressed to believe that anyone outside of their group would have reason to act as her getaway driver.

Which meant that she could've been forced into a car.

Protective anger made David more aware. If that was the case, then whoever did it was going to be sorry. However, his main priority was getting Mary Margaret and Emma back safe and sound.

"You know what's been bugging me?" Freddie inquired.

"What?" David asked.

"Someone's been messing with the cameras at the station." Freddie said. "Graham told me so. And they've done it three times now. How is it that there are two cops there and someone managed to make the cameras malfunction without getting caught? I mean, Graham and Emma aren't perfect but they're not incompetent."

The implication of that was also clear - whoever did this wasn't an amateur, which meant that someone with these kind of skills really wanted Mary Margaret to leave.

David replied, "We can think about that after we get them back."

"Okay." Freddie acquiesced before returning his attention to the woods.

David nodded, and as soon as his quick conversation with Freddie ended, so did the distraction it provided.

 _Emma will be fine,_ David told himself as some strange yet powerful feeling took hold of him. _So will Mary Margaret. We'll take care of this mess, find out who really killed Kathryn, and then put it all behind us. We can all be together._

The thought stunned David, so much so that he accidentally accelerated.

"Whoa, David, easy." Freddie warned as David eased up on the gas. "The trees are separate but not that much."

"Sorry." David apologized.

Freddie gave him a sympathetic look as he resolutely said, "We're going to find them."

David nodded silently as he turned his attention back to the road. Freddie was right. They would find them and bring them home.

That previous thought made no sense though. Sure, he wanted Emma to be safe, she was his friend after all, and he lo- he cared about-

Okay fine, he loved Mary Margaret. There, he admitted it, even if it was to himself. He's probably loved her since she started visiting him in the hospital after he woke up from his coma. The biggest mistake he'd made was going back to Kathryn out of a misguided sense of duty. Because of that, they'd lost so much time, and he'd hurt her.

 _I can make it up to her,_ David promised himself. _I can make it up to both of them._

Again, David was surprised when his mind conjured up an image of him, Mary Margaret, Emma, and Henry together. He managed to keep control of the car this time, even as he wondered why his mind kept picturing the four of them as if they were a family.

* * *

"How long does this road go for?" Killian asked impatiently as Graham kept driving, albeit slowly because they wanted to make sure they didn't miss any signs of the women.

"Not sure." Graham said. "There's a few more miles I think."

Killian sighed a touch too loudly, but he was getting too frustrated to care.

Something had happened, or perhaps _someone_ had happened.

Graham said, "Look, I get that you're frustrated-"

"I'm well beyond that, mate." Killian snapped back.

"Oi, don't snap at me." Graham retorted. "This isn't exactly easy for me, you know?"

Then, without pausing to think about it, Killian said, "Maybe if you'd been keeping a better eye on the station and the damn cell, we wouldn't be here."

Graham glared at him before looking away, and he looked hurt.

Killian immediately felt like an ass. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It'd true though." Graham said as he shook his head. "I absolutely fucked this up, and now we're all in the shit because of it."

Graham was clearly taking this hard, so in an attempt to relieve him of this, Killian asked, "You taking swearing lessons from Declan."

For the most part, it had the intended effect, as Graham gave a short chuckle. "You know, I'd like to think that maybe I've curbed his swearing."

Graham and Killian glanced at each other before sharing another short chuckle.

"I'm sorry." Killian sighed. "I just can't stand the thought of..." _Losing Emma._

Try as he might, he couldn't imagine what life would be like without her. He hated the idea that he'd wake up one morning, and she wouldn't be there. He _needed_ her, he _wanted_ her.

 _I love her_ , he thought suddenly, and the thought strangely surprised him. Not the feeling itself, because he knew that he'd had strong feelings for Emma for a while. He had just never truly thought about using, well, those words to describe it before.

He'd never met a woman like Emma before, and he knew he never would again. He would never again meet someone that brought out such fire in him, that made him feel like he was worth something. Emma was the woman he loved, and he'd do anything to make sure she was safe.

"I know." Graham said with an understanding look.

Killian wondered if Graham truly knew what had just gone through his mind.

All he knew for sure was that they had to get Emma back, and as soon as they did, he was going to take her into his arms and never let go.

* * *

Henry's eyes opened of their own accord, and it took him a moment to realize that he was sleeping on the floor of LJ's room. On one side of Henry was Declan, who was snoring softly, while on his other side was Mai, who was snoring...not so softly.

Seriously, she was pretty loud for someone her size.

On the bed was LJ, who was pretty silent. He had offered to let one of them take their bed, but they'd all been so tired that when they declined it, they offered no resistance.

Henry made to get up until he saw that Copper was asleep on top of him. Sighing, Henry tried to get up without disturbing the puppy too much...which utterly failed.

Copper whined, and Henry sat up with Copper in his arms as he whispered, "Shh, just sleep."

Copper thankfully didn't protest to that, and Henry managed to get up without waking anyone else. Unfortunately, Copper started whining when Henry tried to put him down.

So it was that Henry exited LJ's room, gently shutting the door behind him so that he could attend to his sudden need for something to drink.

"You're awake." Someone said, and Henry jumped a little in surprise. He calmed down once he saw that Phoebe was awake on the couch. Not wide awake, as the shadows under her eyes gave no indication that she'd be getting a good night's sleep, but awake nonetheless.

"Sorry." Henry said. "I was just getting something to drink."

"Let me help." Phoebe responded.

"I don't need-" Henry started, but Phoebe had already gotten up and resolutely walked to the fridge. "Milk please."

Henry sat at the small counter as Phoebe poured the milk into a glass, and then put it in the microwave. She had volunteered to look after the kids when the adults left them there. From the looks of it, she was taking it quite seriously.

"Thanks." Henry said as he grabbed the warm glass of milk with one hand, holding a sleeping Copper in the other.

"No problem." Phoebe replied. "What's up?"

Henry shrugged after taking a sip of the milk. "I'm just waiting for everyone to get back."

"Mhmm." Phoebe hummed as she nodded. "They'll probably be back soon."

"I hope so." Henry said. "They didn't even say what it was about, but it has to be serious."

"It's gonna be fine." Phoebe assured her.

Suddenly feeling less certain, Henry asked, "How can you be sure?"

Phoebe paused before saying, "Sometimes you just get good feelings about things. Besides, your mom and my dad are on the case, and they kick ass."

The surprised look on Phoebe's face caused Henry to laugh, and he stifled another laugh when she said, "Don't tell anyone I said that."

"Ehhhh." Henry drew out before promising her to do so when Phoebe glared at him.

Phoebe's features softened as she said, "It was nice of you to apologize to Mai."

Henry blushed at the memory of his little screw up, and he simply shrugged.

Phoebe, sensing that that was all they would talk about on the subject, then asked, "How have you been doing? You okay living with Emma?"

"Uh, yeah." Henry said like it was obvious. Henry was beaming with happiness. He didn't have a lot of his stuff yet, but he was too excited over getting to live with Emma to care. Technically he was still kind of grounded, but he got the sense that maybe Emma would be more lenient.

He hoped.

Phoebe looked at him curiously before asked, "Quick question - are you okay with my dad dating your mom?"

"What?" Henry asked in surprise. "Yeah, I am."

Phoebe stared at him as she said, "It's just...I was kind of wondering if that's why you yelled at Mai, because you didn't like Killian or something."

Henry blushed, because he felt too embarrassed to say the real reason why he yelled at Mai. Instead he said, "It's not that. I really like Killian. He's, uh, well...he's the closest thing to a dad I ever had."

Instantly Phoebe's expression changed to one of understanding. "And you felt worried that if he and Emma got married, he'd pay more attention to us, right?"

"Kind of, yeah." Henry admitted. _Plus I was afraid my mom would forget me._

Phoebe said, "Look, whatever happens, if they, you know, get married or whatever, we're not going to hog his attention, or your mom's."

"I know." Henry said quietly.

And then Phoebe, seemingly without too deeply about it, said "You're practically already our brother anyway."

Henry's eyes, which had drifted away from her in his embarrassment, shot back up to her astonished.

"Really?" Henry asked, wondering if his voice sounded as hopeful as he thought it did. "How?"

"Well, uh…" Phoebe trailed off as she scrambled to answer it. "Oh, there was that time we hung out at the loft while our parents were out on a date. We hang out sometimes when we're at the library and stuff. Plus, you had your first sibling-ish fight, so that's got to count for something."

Henry never really thought about it before, and he wasn't sure if they classified as siblings, but...maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Of course, a small part of him still worried about whether or not he'd be left out, but he'd never had siblings before. And if he were honest, Phoebe and Mai were kind of nice, and he and Mai could agree that the thought of their parents getting married was something good to think about. He wanted his mom to be happy, and Killian made her happy.

If they did get married, then Phoebe and Mai would be his stepsisters.

His mind immediately thought of the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella, but he banished the thought away. The girls were too nice to be called 'wicked'.

"I…" Henry trailed off. "I think I'd like that actually. If it's okay with you."

Phoebe had a look of faux contemplation on my face. "Well, if you're going to be my brother, then you're going to cook and clean and do the dishes-"

Henry responded in a deadpan voice, "On second thought, i think I'm good."

Phoebe's laugh nearly woke everyone up.

* * *

As Graham continued to drive, Killian glanced out the window, hoping for a sign of Emma or Mary Margaret. This was taking too long for his liking. Ideally, of course, there wouldn't have been a need to find it, but no one was getting what they wanted tonight, were they?

Killian tried not to sigh. He couldn't afford to lose his temper or give into frustration. It was just hard considering the fact that with every minute that passed without progress, his mind felt like it was simultaneously stretching and shrinking horribly. The kids were alone at Ray's house, and he couldn't help but worry about them. He _knew_ that something that happened, and all he could do was hope that Emma and Mary Margaret would be okay until he found them.

Taking in a calming breath through his nose, Killian looked ahead, he noticed something.

"Hold on." Killian told Graham as he pointed at something ahead. "Are those lights?"

Graham took notice of it and nodded. "Someone actually lives out here?"

At first, Killian didn't know either. As far as he knew, everyone lived in or near the town, and one of the reasons this road wasn't used that often was because no one _needed_ to use this road.

Killian was about to tell Graham as much when he something niggled at the back of his brain. Wait, wait, there was something...there was someone who came to mind, but who? All he could think of was Dada, and remembering her party when Jefferson had to leave early-

 _Because he lived out of town,_ Killian thought. The man was never specific as to where he lived, and as far as he knew Dada had never seen the home, but he was the only person who came to mind in connection with this.

"I think I might know who it is." Killian said as he pulled out his phone.

"Who is it?" Graham asked as he approached the house.

"A man named Jefferson." Killian replied as he dialed David's number.

"Hello?" David answered after a few rings. "Killian, you found anything?"

"Maybe." Killian said. "Listen, there's a house up the road Graham and I drove up. It's practically in the middle of nowhere. Graham and I are going to talk to the man who lives there and see if he saw anything."

"You think they might have way out here?" David asked curiously.

Killian replied, "We'll find out soon enough."

* * *

"There's nothing here." Mary Margaret whispered to Emma, moving her jaw around, trying to relieve the pain from when, in desperation, she opened a drawer by pulling on the knob with her teeth.

"Shit." Emma whispered back, because they'd been there for who knows how long, and they found nothing that could help. One of the arms of the chair seemed to have loosened, but that didn't solve the problem of how to get the tape off. Eventually, Emma might get desperate enough to try and break the arm of the chair, or try to gnaw at the duct tape with her teeth.

Then again, she had nearly knocked her own chair sideways trying to get out of it, and that was enough to make her hesitant.

 _We've got to get out of here,_ Emma thought.

Looking at the door, Emma felt a little relieved that Jefferson hadn't come back. Emma's limbs started feeling a little cramped, and she knew that he'd been gone for a while.

And somehow he was the least of their problems.

 _Regina set this up?_ , Emma asked herself. _Maybe Jefferson's lying, but why would he? And if he isn't, then why would she-_

_She hates you. Because of what she blames you for in the Enchanted Forest._

Emma didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be real. No, no this was just...just some guy who was alone and maybe mentally unbalanced-

 _Maybe?,_ Emma questioned herself. _When did 'maybe' become an option here?_

Yeah, yeah that was right. There was no maybe. There was only one possible explanation and that was-

The image of the hearts beating and glowing in those chests rose to the forefront of her mind, and no matter how much she tried to push them away, they simply wouldn't leave. Almost like they were taunting her, the memory of the sounds of their beating, as if they were alive, reverberated in Emma's head, drowning out all other sound.

_Thump-thump! Thump-thump!_

It's not real. It can't be real.

 _All the stories in this book really happened,_ Henry told her when she first got here.

_Thump-thump! Thump-thump!_

B-but it didn't make any sense. Emma's feet began to feel numb as her mind seemed to close in on itself, only able to think about this impossible thing, this situation that should not be happened.

_Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!_

"Emma." Mary Margaret whispered, bringing her out of her reverie. She looked at her concernedly as she asked, "Emma, what is it?"

Emma couldn't speak for a moment, only increasing Mary Margaret's worry. When she finally collected herself, Emma said, "It's nothing."

Emma swallowed a lump in her throat, and yet it still felt tight and uncomfortable. Emma took in a calming breath before telling Mary Margaret. "Okay, let's see if gnawing through this tape works out."

"Okay." Mary Margaret whispered back. She then painstakingly shuffled her chair forward closer to Emma.

"Come closer." Emma urged as she twisted her chair - not an easy task given how heavy it was - as best she could so that she could get closer to Mary Margaret.

"I'll get you undone." Mary Margaret said before bending down to try and gnaw at the tape.

"No, it should be you." Emma told her even as she was powerless to stop Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret lifted her head back up, her face somewhat scrunched by the likely tangy and awful taste of the tape. "It has to be you. I don't want you to get hurt."

Emma began to protest, "But-"

"Besides," Mary Margaret interrupted insistently, "you might have a better chance of taking Jefferson on if he comes back, right?"

Mary Margaret clearly didn't relish the idea of Emma taking on Jefferson, and Emma knew it was simply her friend's urge of appealing to Emma's pragmatism.

Nonetheless, it worked, and Emma kept an eye on the door while Mary Margaret tried to tear at the duct tape with her teeth, occasionally pulling back when the taste became overwhelming or when the strain on her teeth hurt a little too much.

"Keep going." Emma urged as she stared at the door, trying to take note of any signs that Jefferson could be coming back. It wasn't easy considering how Emma heard her heart hammer in her ears, how her breathing was a little more erratic than before.

Eventually, Mary Margaret's persistence paid off, and after twisting her wrist enough Emma's right wrist was free.

"Finally." Emma muttered under her breath as she began to claw at the tape on her other wrist until she found the end of the tape, hastily ripping it open until her other wrist was free. She eventually did the same with her feet, and after she stood up she cringed when the sudden movement caused her legs to cramp up.

"Okay, time to get you out." Emma said as she kneeled down, the muscles in her legs tensing up as she did so, and she began to unbind her legs.

She had been so focused on that task, only managing to unbind one of Mary Margaret's legs before her friend screamed, "Emma look out!"

Emma turned her head to the side just in time to see Jefferson come at her. She instinctively kicked out with one leg, catching him right in the shin, causing him to groan in pain as he tumbled over. Emma tried to put some distance between them, but Jefferson recovered quickly enough to get up and charge at Emma, flinging himself on top of her and grabbing her arms when she tried to fight back.

"I don't want to hurt you." Jefferson said tersely as he tried to keep her from hitting him.

Mary Margaret, who was close enough to them, kicking her free leg out so that the blow landed directly at the man's ribs.

Jefferson groaned in pain, loosening his grip on one of Emma's arms so that she could throw a punch at his face, causing him to pull back in pain.

Emma managed to use that to roughly push him off her. She saw that the arm of the chair she had been taped to was still wobbly, so taking a risk she hastily went forward to grasp the arm of the chair, and harshly twisted it until it came free. Just in time too, as Jefferson recovered again and tried to grab her, albeit with a guilt look and hesitancy in his movements.

Emma swung the arm chair at him, causing Jefferson to jump back to avoid it. _Dammit_ , she swore in her mind as she felt her muscles tingle and tense up, still trying to regain their regular motion after being stuck tied to a chair for so long.

"I'm trying-" Jefferson instinctively lifted up his arm to block her next swing, shouting in pain when it landed harsly against his arms. "Stop!"

"Like hell!" Emma replied as she swung again, backing Jefferson against a dresser. She swung once more, but Jefferson managed to dodge in time so that the blow landed against the dresser. Before Emma could pull back for another swing, Jefferson tackled her to the ground.

Emma grabbed at the first thing she could see - his scarf - and she took hold of it, and she also pushed at his chin, forcing his head up in her attempt to get him away from her.

What gave her pause was that there was a scar around his neck, one that was deep and seemed to loop around his neck.

Clearly Jefferson knew was she had seen, and muttered, "Off with his head."

Taking her surprise as an opening, Jefferson grabbed at one of her hands, and tried wrenching it away from him, forcing Emma to focus on their fight.

Distantly, she thought she heard some pounding and a high-pitched ring as Mary Margaret began to scream, "Help! Help! Help!"

As Emma struggled to get him off of her, realizing that this fight might not go her way, she panickingly thought, _Shit, shit. SHIT!_

* * *

Killian and Graham had pulled up to a large house - almost a mansion really - and as they approached the door they thought they heard the sounds of muffled thuds. Graham knocked on the door and said, "It's the police. Anybody there?"

Killian rang the door once there was no answer.

Before either of them could say anything, someone began to scream, "Help! Help! Help!"

Briefly looking at each other in shock, Graham pulled his gun and said, "Stay back."

 _To hell with that!_ , Killian thought. Before Graham could do anything, Killian immediately began kicking at the door. Despite feeling vibrations reverberate up his foot, Killian kept driving his heel near the doorknob until the door cracked up. Soon Graham and Killian pushed through the now broken door, and ran inside.

"Help!" That same voice said, and Killian realized it was Mary Margaret. "In here!"

"It's coming from upstairs." Killian said before he and Graham ran up the stairs and arrived at the second floor.

Killian's heart was hammering as they drew nearer, the sounds of fighting becoming louder.

"Just hold on!" A man shouted.

"Get off!" Emma's voice shouted before there was a pained groan.

A now scared Killian raced toward the sound, and soon he and Graham came upon a room where Emma was on the floor, frantically rising to her feet and trying to go over to Mary Margaret, who was taped to a chair. And it soon became clear that the person she had been fighting with was Jefferson.

"Freeze!" Graham shouted as he pointed his gun at Jefferson.

All of the people in the room stilled as they realized that they had company. Emma and Mary Margaret's faces were ones of relief, while Jefferson's expression betrayed wariness and exhaustion.

"Hands in the air!" Graham ordered as he and Killian turned around. As Killian went over to the women, Graham ordered Jefferson to turn around, and he cuffed the now complacent and tired man.

Killian immediately hugged Emma, holding her to him. Instantly a feeling of relief surged through him. She was safe and in his arms and if it were in his power he would never let go. It was only a moment later he realized that they were both shaking a bit.

Emma reluctantly pulled away as she said, "I've got to- I've got…" Emma's quiet stammering ended as she just went to the task of getting Mary Margaret out of her restraints, which Killian was quick to help her with. Meanwhile Graham dragged Jefferson out of the room.

"Thank God." Mary Margaret said with a slight sob as they got the tape off her. As she rubbed her wrists to bring back circulation, she turned to Killian and asked, "How did you find us?"

"We've been looking all over the woods for you two." Killian replied as she helped Mary Margaret, who quickly hugged Emma.

After Emma released her from that hug, that's when she got a worried look on her face and said, "Henry."

"He's fine." Killian said, quick to assure her. "He's probably still asleep. We left the kids and gods at Ray's place before we left."

Just then, the sounds of cars pulling up in front of the house sounded.

"That must be them now." Killian commented, and the three of them went over to the window, getting the confirmation they needed when they saw David's truck and Ruby's car.

"Wait, you brought Ruby?" Mary Margaret asked.

"She can keep a secret." Killian said before thinking, _I hope._

* * *

Jefferson was currently in the back of Graham's car, at least from what Emma could see through the living room window.

Emma and Mary Margaret were seated on the couch, having already gone through a round of their friends hugging and checking on them. The hug between Mary Margaret and David lasted a little longer than anyone else's did. Well, aside from another hug that Emma and Killian shared, one where Emma felt as if he was the sole anchor she had to remind her that it was over now, even if it didn't necessarily feel like it.

Their friends also shot confused glares at Jefferson. Clearly they knew who he was, and didn't seem to understand his motives. Emma had tried explaining it, but with Ruby in hearing shot, and Emma's own confusion clouding her mind, it was next to impossible.

Currently, the others had decided to give the two of them their space as they discussed what to do. They decided to look around the house to see if they could find out just what kind of person Jefferson was. Of course, if they ever did get around to pressing charges against Jefferson, all of it would be inadmissible. Then again, why would they? Doing so would mean acknowledging that Mary Margaret was ever out of her cell, and they couldn't have that could they?

"What's going to happen now?" Mary Margaret asked tiredly, the adrenaline in her body running out and leaving her exhausted.

Emma looked at her regretfully. "We have to take you back."

Mary Margaret immediately looked disappointed. "Emma, everyone thinks I killed Kathryn. If Jefferson's to be believed, then Regina wants me gone and I don't know why."

Emma understand her reticence, her fear that things wouldn't go her way, but that didn't mean that she could let her friend go down this path. "You stayed in that cell the first time that key was found for a reason. Why?"

Mary Margaret paused before admitting, "Because I didn't want to run. I mean, I don't want to be found guilty, but...my life is here. I can't imagine living anywhere else, or being on the run for the rest of my life."

Emma then said insistently, "Mary Margaret, you have to believe me. You have to trust me. I know it seems impossible, but I can get you out of this."

"What about Jefferson?" Mary Margaret asked, pointing a hand towards where they could see Graham's car through the window. "Is he just going to be let go? If you do arrest him, then what do you tell Regina? And, again, if he's telling the truth, then what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to the people she's threatening."

"We _will_ protect you and them." Emma promised. "She won't get away with this."

Mary Margaret shook her head a little. "If Regina finds proof that you helped me-"

"She won't." Emma insisted.

"If she _does_ ," Mary Margaret continued, "then you could lose custody of Henry. You could lose everything over me." She then added in a quieter, more vulnerable voice, "I'm not worth it."

Emma quickly replied, "Yes you are." Emma then had to take a moment to compose herself, the sudden swell of emotion nearly overtaking her. It wasn't easy opening up to people. It was even harder admitting any sort of vulnerability. Most of her life - or rather the people she'd encountered - taught her that opening yourself up only ever led to disappointment and pain.

However, this was too important. She _had_ to get this point across.

"When Regina framed me, you bailed me out and when I asked you why, you said you trusted me." Emma told her. "When I wanted to leave Storybrooke 'cause I thought it was best for Henry, you told me I need to stay because that was best for him. You did everything you could to get me to like the holidays. Hell, you've basically done nothing but try to make life for me here good. I realized that I've been...alone, all my life. Walls up. Nobody's ever been there for me, except for you. And I can't lose that. I cannot lose my family."

Mary Margaret's eyes appeared to become glassy just then, and Emam thought she saw the beginning of tears as Mary Margaret smiled a little and asked, "Family?"

"Well...yeah." Emma said with a shrug, feeling a little embarrassed, but not willing to take it back. "You know what I mean. Wouldn't you rather face this together than alone?"

Mary Margaret was still smiling a little as she silently nodded.

"Good." Emma said, mildly relieved that Mary Margaret was trusting her, but still worried that she might not be able to keep it. She had to try though. She'd laid her cards out, and she wasn't about to let her friend be falsely convicted of murder without a fight.

Furthermore, Emma knew that if Regina truly had gotten this desperate, this wasn't going to be the last time they would deal with this.

Speaking of which, as Emma glanced outside, she caught Graham talking to Jefferson, who seemed pretty checked out. When Jefferson happened to glance her way, he and Emma locked eyes, and Emma felt a cold chill in her body. His words still haunted her, and she needed answers.

Looking around, she spotted Ruby nearby. "Hey Ruby?"

"What's up?" Ruby asked as she approached them with an expression that signaled her eagerness to help.

"What time is it?" Emma asked her.

"Umm…" Ruby trailed off as she checked her wristwatch. "It's a little past 1 AM." Ruby yawned, seemingly emphasizing that point.

"We've still got time to get you back." Emma said to Mary Margaret.

"Thanks for looking for me." Mary Margaret told Ruby.

"No problem." Ruby assured her. "Also, in case your worried, my lips are sealed on whatever...this is." She gestured around the room with a curious look on her face. "But i wouldn't mind an explanation as to what's going on."

"Later." Emma told her as she stood up. "I need to talk to Jefferson."

The women looked like they wanted to protest, but whether their confidence in Emma's abilities or how tired they were played a part, Emma wasn't sure.

Regardless, Emma went outside, closing the door behind her as she approached Graham and Jefferson. She stopped about ten feet away from them before they noticed her.

Graham stood up straight and was about to close the door when Emma stopped him.

"Wait." Emma told him. "I want to talk to him. Alone."

"You sure?" Graham asked her.

Emma nodded, though she certainly hoped that she could keep her composure in front of the guy who'd been holding her and her friend hostage not too long ago. 

Graham sent another glare at Jefferson before approaching Emma. He whispered, "He hasn't said much, but he seems to be under the impression that something's going on in Storybrooke. He hasn't exactly been forthcoming as to what."

"He thinks the curse is real." Emma revealed.

Graham's eyebrows raised in surprise. "How? Did he see Henry's book?" Then, he added with a start, "Does he know about the hearts?"

"I don't know." Emma replied. "He claims he hasn't seen the book, and he claims that he's been trapped in this house for decades. He also says that he has a daughter, and that Regina threatened her and Dada if he didn't keep Mary Margaret here."

"Well that much he did tell me." Graham said with a disturbed look on his face. "Emma, I think this curse...I don't think it's made up. At this point, I don't think any of us can claim it's made up."

Emma glanced at Graham before looking at Jefferson, feeling more and more of her resolve weaken as time passed, as evidence piled up.

"I just need to talk to him." Emma repeated.

Graham paused before he nodded, stepping far enough away to be out of earshot, but not so far that he couldn't rush over if Jefferson tried anything.

Given the almost despondent look on the man's face, Emma didn't know how likely that was.

Once Emma and Jefferson were mostly alone, she approached until she stood by the open door.

Before she could get a word out, Jefferson said, "I failed. I completely failed, and now Grace and Dada are going to suffer for it."

The misery in his words, the underlying despair all rang true with Emma. Nothing he said indicated a lie. Once, she might've convinced herself that it was simply the power of his own delusion, but now…

"We can protect them." Emma replied.

Jefferson scoffed, though there wasn't much aggression behind it. He then looked at Emma and began to plead, "I know you have trouble believing the truth, but you have to understand that Regina is dangerous. She is capable of far more than you think. Regina won't think twice about hurting two innocent people in revenge. Please, she can do whatever she wants to me, but…" Then, Jefferson's eyes watered a little. "I'm _begging_ you, _please_ don't let her hurt them."

"She won't do anything to them." Emma promised before feeling a question rise in her throat, urging to get out. Emma then closed the door of the car before walking around it, getting into the back through the other side. She closed that door as well, and once she was seated she looked at Jefferson. "What exactly do you know about the curse?"

Jefferson looked at her surprised. "I was right. You do know about it."

"I know _about_ it," Emma said, "but...it's insane. It can't-"

"Be true?" Jefferson finished. "Believe me, I know it's sounds crazy, but it's reality. And I can see it in your eyes...you know it's true." He then paused before asking, "What convinced you?"

Emma paused for a while, feeling something inside her encouraging her to spit it out, to admit everything. And so, she gave in. "We found hearts. Glowing, beating hearts in chests."

Jefferson looked like his jaw was about to drop. He then scoffed. "I fucking knew it. She had to have brought that vault over here. She was unhealthily attached to it. I just could never figure out where she put it. Where was it?"

"Under the mausoleum." Emma replied.

Jefferson then said, "I can't believe you actually believe it."

"What makes you think I do?" Emma shot back defensively.

Jefferson gave her an incredulous look. "Come on. Even you have to concede that it's real after finding glowing hearts."

"Why do I have to concede it?" Emma asked, though there was no fire in her words. In spite of herself, she couldn't help but say, "If I did believe in it, then two of the people in that house...are my parents. Everyone here is trapped, and _I'm_ supposed to save them?"

"No one ever said it'd be easy." Jefferson said with some gentleness.

 _Tell me something I don't know_ , Emma thought snarkily, though it didn't have as much light-heartedness or even a comical edge like it was might have. _When was something in my life ever easy?_

Like she told Jefferson, if this was true, then Mary Margaret and David were her parents. She would've finally found her parents, and they wouldn't even know her as their daughter. If this was true, then all of these people were in danger and she of all people was meant to save them.

It was all too much. She couldn't be a Savior. She couldn't have found her parents, not like this.

It simply couldn't be, and yet Emma felt her heart and mind drain of skepticism, to begin losing whatever held her back.

How could this be real? Just...how?

And yet, Emma hated to admit, it made too much sense. Henry's continued insistence that no one besides him aged, that there was something wrong with Regina. Even the kids believed it after seeing the hearts.

Emma sighed as she felt a migraine come on. "Okay." Emma said quietly, taking time to collect herself. She didn't like this. If anything, she hated conceding any ground, but her gut was telling her that this had merit, that her hesitancy wasn't entirely warranted. At the very least, she could try and get some information about the situation. She then turned her head to address Jefferson, and after taking a calming breath she said, "Now you're going to answer my questions."

"Ask me anything." Jefferson said eagerly, ready to say anything truthfully to convince Emma of the truth. Not to mention that it felt so damn _good_ talking about this to someone after decades.

"Who are you?" Emma said, distantly realizing that her resolve was clinging onto its last threads as she added, "If this is true, who are you _supposed_ to be?"

"My name _is_ Jefferson." He told her. "I...had a name people called me, but I don't exactly like it."

"Humor me." Emma said.

Jefferson's jaw tensed before he tersely admitted, "I was...called...The Mad Hatter."

Emma sighed. "Is there any character that isn't included in that book?" Before Jefferson could say more, something occurred to Emma. "Why did Regina come to you?"

Jefferson answered, "The Dark Curse is meant to take away everyone's happy ending, and it did its job by replacing people's memories, separating families, but Regina decided that wasn't enough for me. She let me have both my cursed _and_ real memories, and trapped me in this house. All I could do was…" Jefferson swallowed a lump in his throat as a faraway look came over his face. "All I could do was watch my little girl grow up with another family, see another man as her father."

"Who is your daughter supposed to be?" Emma asked.

"Her name here is Paige. Paige Schafer." Jefferson said before insistently adding, "But her real name is Grace."

 _Paige is supposed to be his daughter?,_ Emma thought to herself. "You said you were trapped, but you've been walking around for months."

"Only after you got here." Jefferson said, looking at Emma once more. "Time started again, and I could leave my house."

"Did you ever reach out to her?" Emma asked.

"Why would I?" He asked incredulously. "Even if she believed me, how could I subject her living with two different lives in her head? How could I subject my own daughter to what I have to live with?"

Emma winced. "Hate to break it to you, but the kids already know."

"What?" He asked incredulously.

That's when someone knocked on the window, and Emma and Jefferson snapped their heads in the direction of the sound. It was Graham, and soon he opened the door to talk to them. "We should probably head back back now." He told them. "We don't want to risk anyone noticing something's amiss."

"Right." Emma said before getting out of the car.

"What does Grace know?" Jefferson asked her. "Does she remember?"

Emma tried not to wince at the worried yet hopeful look on his face. "No." She said with a shake of her head as she kept the door open. "She and the kids found the hearts in the vault. They know what's going on, but they don't remember anything."

Jefferson remained silent after that, and Emma took that as a signal to close the door.

Walking around to meet Graham, her partner asked, "Learn anything?"

"I...I think so." Emma said reluctantly.

"Why did this happen?" Graham asked her.

"Regina put him up to it." Emma said. "She kidnapped Mary Margaret from the station, and brought her here so she'd be found missing."

"And so everyone would think she took off." Graham surmised. "Why is it I can't be surprised by what that woman's capable of anymore? Did he say why Regina thought she could trust him?"

"She threatened his daughter and Dada." Emma said.

"He has a daughter?" Graham asked.

"The short version is that he thinks that the curse is real, and Paige Schafer is his daughter, but she doesn't remember him." Emma said.

"Ah." Graham said, clearly wanting to ask more, but casting a worried glance at his wristwatch. "We might have some time, but like I said, I don't want to risk anyone noticing Mary Margaret's gone. I'll stay at the station and keep watch. You mind looking after Declan?"

"Yeah, of course." Emma said before looking at Graham more intently. She felt something in her unsettle, but she couldn't pretend that denial would steady her anymore. "This is really happening, isn't it? This...curse thing."

Graham looked at her for a long moment before admitting, "I think the time where we thought this was only part of Henry's imagination is over."

* * *

"Henry, Henry time to wake up." Someone told him, and a sleepy Henry thought that maybe it was his mom. After cracking his eyes open just a bit, he confirmed it to be true. He also realized that Killian was there too, gently waking up Mai and Phoebe.

Huh. It seemed that Phoebe decided to join them in sleep sometime after Henry went back to sleep.

There was a yip and a bark, courtesy of Lady and Copper - respectively - as they were woken up as well.

"What time is it?" Declan mumbled grumpily as he burrowed under his blankets.

"It's still pretty early." Emma told them as she grabbed some of Henry's things. She then told Declan, "Get your stuff. Graham gave me permission to take you home while he cleared some things up at the station."

"Seriously?" Declan asked curiously as he began to wake up more.

"Yep." Emma told him, and without any other prompting the boys began to get up. They tried to make it quiet since LJ was the only one who was still asleep.

"Thanks for letting them stay here." Emma quietly told Ray as she got a leash on the sleepy Copper.

"Anytime." Ray said as everyone got their shoes on. Henry noticed that Mai was being carried by Killian, and she was basically still asleep, while Killian and Phoebe looked ready to join her.

Ray saw them out, everyone shuffling out tiredly.

"I'll see you later." Killian said as he and the girls started down the stairs.

Phoebe held Lady's leash, and even the dog seemed as tired as the rest of them.

"Is Mary Margaret okay?" Henry asked his mom.

"Yeah, she's fine." Emma said with a faraway look in her eyes.

Henry and Declan looked at each other before Henry looked back at his mom. "Mom, are _you_ okay?"

That seemed to snap her out of it, and Emma wrapped an arm around him, giving him a sideways hug as they began to walk down the stairs. "I'm fine."

Henry didn't believe her, but he decided that he would just ask her later when they were all rested up.

"I'm really glad you're here." Henry said as they eventually walked out of the apartment building, and he saw that the sky was still dark.

Emma silently held him closer as she led them towards the Bug, and Henry couldn't help but notice that his mom - the seemingly implacable Emma - was _shaking_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO! Chapter is done. Mary Margaret is returned to her cell, and Jefferson is her cellmate (awkward, amirite). Plus, Emma actually believes in the curse.
> 
> How will this affect the story? You'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> As I said, I'm going to take a little break, but I will do our best to speedily bring us back to our weekly updates.
> 
> See you soon!


End file.
